The season of summer is celebrated in some splendid paintings both literal and abstract, ancient and new, and in locations spanning the globe, from cityscapes to countryside, from seas to woodlands, from daytime through to the long nights.
Victoria Avenue, Summer Lincoln Pugh Jenkins (1901–1988) The Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate
I have recently returned from a long summer's walk through the landscape of the South Downs where I walked the border of land and sea for 110 kilometres with The Refugee Tales project. The project both publishes a series of books and organises walks throughout the landscape of the UK in solidarity with those held in indefinite detention, along the way reclaiming the land as a place of belonging.
Summer Landscape, Sussex 1970 David W. P. Humphreys (1937–2022) Worthing Museum and Art Gallery
Longing for the landscape on my return from the walk, I was delighted to discover a painting entitled Summer Landscape, Sussex by David W. P. Humphreys in the archive to transport me back to that terrain. One of the most striking elements of my walk was the chalk – part of my walk took me across the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs all the way to Eastbourne. While the specific location in Sussex is unnamed in this painting, what appears to be chalk is captured in a terrifically textured way with a dark cliff rising into a red sky.
'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?', asked Shakespeare in Sonnet 18.
'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?' 1988 Philip Sutton (b.1928) The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
It is the inspiration for the title of a painting by Philip Sutton held in The Potteries Museum& Art Gallery which is alive with the bright colours and shapes of summer.
A Summer’s Day Diana M. Armfield (b.1920) MOMA MACHYNLLETH
The idyll of that summer's day is shown in many a painting such as Diana M. Armfield's picture-perfect A Summer's Day, depicting a peaceful scene of people in a park. Other scenes I enjoyed include Summer: Miles and His Kite by Henry Kondracki, showing the tiny speck of a person dwarfed by sea, sky and sand.
Summer: Miles and His Kite Henry Kondracki (b.1953) Art in Healthcare
There are many paintings titled simply Summer Landscape which show how artists have admired the natural world in this season.
Summer Storm unknown artist North Ayrshire Council
Even bad weather in summer seems serene in the paintings I've seen – Summer Storm by an unknown artist shows rain failing in what looks like a wave of blue hair.
Midsummer Night, Lofoten, Norway Adelsteen Normann (1848–1918) Towneley Hall Art Gallery & Museum
Summer Evening, Achill Michael J. Bourke (1913–1985) Armagh County Museum
Summer Evening, Achill shows two people admiring the clarity of evening light on water, while summer evenings are shown in an adventurously abstract way in paintings such as Abstract – Summer Sunset by Georgia Melhuish, which makes the most of strokes of orange, yellow and white.
Abstract – Summer Sunset George Melhuish (1916–1985) Art in Healthcare
Summer Night on the River Barbara Beck (b.c.1927) Monmouthshire Museums Service
There is also Summer Night on the River by Barbara Beck, showing five people on a boat-trip in such resplendent colour and texture that it made me want to slip out and enjoy nature at night.
The Summer Moon – Bait Gatherers 1858 Charles Lees (1800–1880) Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture
The Summer Moon – Bait Gatherers, showing moonlight on water and people gathered at the shore, and Summer Moonlight, Firth of Clyde, make me want to stroll through the evenings and admire the magnificence of the moon in this anniversary year of the first person to land on the moon.
Summer Moonlight, Firth of Clyde 1928 Patrick Downie (1854–1945) Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives
Artwork subjects range all over the world, and from cityscapes to the countryside.
Summer in the City Gillian McCormick University of Strathclyde
There is, for example, Summer in the City by Gillian McCormick, showing an abstract cityscape and blue skies.
Summer Meadow Tony Turpin (b.1933) Princess of Wales Community Hospital
In contrast to urban scenes, I love Summer Meadow by Tony Turpin showing a glory of red flowers stretching all the way off the edge.
Cornfield Summer 1997 Lindsay Anne Rutherford University of Dundee, Duncan of Jordanstone College Collection
Cornfield Summer by Lindsay Anne Rutherford is an enchantment of deep yellow and amber.
Sunlit Cornfield Sketch for 'Summer' Alan Reynolds (1926–2014) Merton College, University of Oxford
I also love the cornfield in Sunlit Cornfield (Sketch for 'Summer') by Alan Reynolds (the finished painting is in the Tate).
Summer c.1945–1955 Ivan Grigorievich Savenko (1924–1987) Paintings Collection
Summer by Ivan Grigorievich Savenko shows the lush green of full-leaved trees and tall grass.
Early Summer 1898 Daniel Alexander Williamson (1822–1903) Walker Art Gallery
Paintings show the season in all of its stages – from Early Summer by Daniel Alexander Williamson to Late Summer in the Severn Valley by Alastair Frederick Flatteley.
Late Summer in the Severn Valley Alastair Frederick Flattely (1922–2009) RWA (Royal West of England Academy)
Thankfully (or at least hopefully!) there are still many weeks of the season still to enjoy.
Many abstract artworks show how the season of summer has set the imagination of artists alight and brilliantly distil the spirit of the season, such as Summer Lightning by George MacPherson held in the Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture.
Summer Lightning 2005 George Alexander MacPherson (1935–2018) Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture
One of the most powerful of abstracts, Summer's Promise by Carolyne Kardia, uses bright yellow, red, green and blue in shapes which look like the inside of a flower, capturing all the potential the season seems to hold.
Summer's Promise 2002 Carolyne Kardia (b.1951) Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust (Art at the Heart of the RUH)
Inspired by these paintings, I'm now going to stroll outside into the summer evening as the sun sets and admire every moment of the season while it lasts.
Anita Sethi, journalist, writer and critic
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