New Landscapes by David Dawson: A Panel Discussion

Inspired by Thomas Gainsborough’s lifelong love of nature, Gainsborough’s House continues its Art and Landscape programme this season with a celebration of Constable 250. The event coincides with the solo exhibition, Land, Sky, Light: New Landscapes by David Dawson, currently on display at Gainsborough’s House.

This special panel discussion explores themes at the heart of the work of contemporary artist David Dawson. A celebrated painter, David also has an upland sheep farm based in mid-Wales, Dawson’s practice examines the relationship between humans and animals, our connectedness to the natural world, and the realities of agrarian life.

David will be joined by academic and writer Camilla Toulmin and Suffolk organic mixed arable and sheep farmer John Pawsey. The conversation will be chaired by Calvin Winner, Executive Director of Gainsborough’s House.

Tickets £15

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Tickets for this Event can be cancelled or transferred to another event up to one week beforehand. Changes to your booking after this date can only be made if the ticket can be re-sold.

Event information

• This event will be held in the Landscape Studio which is accessible via lift.
• The Watering Place is open for refreshments before the event.
• There will be an opportunity for Q&A after the discussion.
• Doors open at 1.45pm.

Biographies

David Dawson is an acclaimed contemporary painter whose exhibition of new and recent paintings is currently at Gainsborough’s House. David’s paintings capture the shifting skies and luminous atmospheres of his Welsh homeland. This part of an ongoing body of work that Dawson paints en plein air in his home country in Montgomeryshire, Mid Wales.

Camilla Toulmin studies how people and livestock have over centuries shaped the landscapes of savanna Africa and upland Europe. Originally an economist, she writes on agrifood systems, climate, and soils, recognising the enduring value of traditional practices, such as transhumance. She’s a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

John Pawsey is the owner of Shimpling Park Farms Limited, a farm that grows a range of crops and a breeding flock of sheep. He converted the farm to organic production in 1999 and since then has improved the soil and increased biodiversity while maintaining profitable food production. He is a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society and writes for various publications including the Farmers Weekly.

Calvin Winner is the Executive Director of Gainsborough’s House.