Steve Marshall: The Life of the Fields

Rural landscapes have been a key element in British art since the eighteenth century. Since farming accounts for around 70% of land use in England, artists portraying the countryside often depicted aspects of agriculture.

Many 20th century artists also became fascinated by the details of agricultural work and how it affected the landscape across the seasons. Their depictions of farmland were also bound up with ideas that the traditional patchwork of fields, hedges, farms and villages were quintessentially English.

Whether they intended it or not, artists capturing rural life during this period chronicled major changes in farming techniques and the appearance of the countryside.

Steve Marshall is a freelance exhibitions curator and with Gill Clarke is co-curator of the exhibition The Life of the Fields, held at St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery, 20 September 2025 – 10 January 2026.