Lovely landscapes

12:35pm Thursday 24th April 2008

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THE Romantic Landscape, the opening exhibition of 2008 at Monnow Valley Arts Centre in Walterstone, features etchings by Samuel Palmer (1805-1881), paintings, watercolours and prints by John Piper (1903-1992) and paintings and watercolours by Ralph Maynard Smith (1904-1964).

The visionary painter Samuel Palmer was a landscape painter who glorified the undefiled pre-industrial landscape of Britain; during the war, John Piper recorded the effects of ruination and bombing around the country, until extended visits to Wales brought him back to painting the landscape and buildings within a pastoral setting.

The third artist, Ralph Maynard Smith, never exhibited in his lifetime, but his early landscape paintings display a deeply held love of quiet places. It is only through the efforts of his son Simon Smith, The Ralph Maynard Smith Trust and Wolseley Fine Arts that his work is being discovered.

The exhibition runs until Sunday, June 1. Thursdays and Friday, 11am to 6pm, Saturday and Sunday, 2-6pm. For details, call 01873 860 529,email info@monnowvalleyarts.org or visit monnowvalleyarts.org