In 2003 The Fine Art Trade Guild asked Art Business Today to conduct a survey of over 800 UK galleries to find out which genre was the most popular subject in painting. Topping the list was the traditional landscape closely followed by local views, with modern or semiabstract landscape interpretations third. Interestingly, Impressionistic landscapes came further down the list at number nine behind seascapes and wildlife.
Today the landscape is seen to be an accessible and classic subject. The quintessential landscape painting is recognisable, approachable, easily understood and reassuring. It imbues feelings of nostalgia and it can stir and lift the spirit, and importantly for both artists and galleries, paintings with elements of the landscape at their core sell well.
Early landscapes
In the history of painting, however, our appreciation of the aesthetics of the natural world surrounding
