Art History Course | The Genres of Art – Landscape
10.30am–1pm
£45 each or book all three for £125
[ Talk )
Buy Tickets >Join us for the second session in our art history course, Art and its Genres, with Colin Wiggins, artist, writer, and former Special Projects Curator at the National Gallery, and Pallant House Gallery Curator, Miriam O’Connor Perks.
The session will feature two engaging lectures with opportunities for questions and stimulating discussion, plus a coffee break (refreshments provided) in between.
Landscape painting has played a vital role in the history of art, offering artists a way to shape mood, meaning, and emotional response. Colin Wiggins will trace the development of landscape within the hierarchy of genres, from its early use as an idealised backdrop for biblical and classical narratives to its emergence as a subject in its own right.
Following this, Miriam O’Connor Perks will consider landscape in the work of William Nicholson and his contemporaries, revealing how Nicholson’s quietly observed views of the English countryside balance abstraction with a strong sense of place. The session concludes by reflecting on how artists today continue to find inspiration in the natural world.
Please bring anything you would like to make notes with and let us know when booking of any special dietary or access requirements.
£45 per session or book all three for the discounted price of £125. Add all three sessions to your basket to receive the discounted price when you check out.
Other sessions in this course are:
Wednesday 25 February, 10.30am–1pm – The Hierarchy of Painting
Miriam O'Connor Perks
Miriam O’Connor Perks is Curator at Pallant House Gallery. She completed her Masters in Art History and Museum Curating at the University of Sussex in 2018. She has contributed to the following publications: William Nicholson (2025), Seeing Each Other: Portraits of Artists (2025), The Shape of Things: Still Life in Britain (2024), and Sussex Landscape: Chalk, Wood and Water (2022).
Colin Wiggins
Colin Wiggins worked for over 30 years at the National Gallery. He was responsible for the Associate Artist scheme, inviting contemporary artists such as Paula Rego, Peter Blake and Ana Maria Pacheco to become involved in the life of the Gallery and to hold exhibitions of their work there. During his time at the Gallery he also curated exhibitions of work by artists such as Frank Auerbach, Bridget Riley, Lucian Freud.
