New project for Compton Verney

Compton Verney art gallery near Leamington has been selected to take part in a new ‘crowd-funding’ project with a leading landscape designer to enable it to create a new flower garden.
By The Newsroom
Published 30th Jun 2014, 08:00 BST
What the proposed parterre at Compton Verney will look like. Image by Dan Pearson.What the proposed parterre at Compton Verney will look like. Image by Dan Pearson.
What the proposed parterre at Compton Verney will look like. Image by Dan Pearson.

The gallery near Kineton is hoping to raise £15,000 through the Art Fund’s Art Happens scheme to fund the design of a ‘mown parterre’ (pictured), which will be set within a wildflower meadow in Compton Verney’s ‘Capability’ Brown-designed parkland. The work will complement the gallery’s summer 2015 exhibition, The Arts and Crafts House, which will feature the work of William Morris.

Dan Pearson, who is currently working on the landscaping and planting for the new Garden Bridge that will cross London’s River Thames, will be the first garden designer to have worked on the grounds at Compton Verney since Lancelot Capability Brown in the 18th century.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said “I thought it was important to make the link between the Arts and Crafts house and garden for the exhibition. Having visited the gallery and toured the parkland I could see an amazing opportunity to develop an iconic William Morris wallpaper into a mown parterre on the west lawn.

Most Popular
Dan Pearson. Picture by Sir Paul Smith.Dan Pearson. Picture by Sir Paul Smith.
Dan Pearson. Picture by Sir Paul Smith.

“This can be enjoyed by visitors to the exhibition who can view it from the galleries above and by those exploring the park weaving their way through the parterre at ground level.”

The project will appeal to people to pledge their support via a ‘crowd-funding platform’. Donations can be as little as £5 and everyone who contributes will be given a limited edition reward, such as a a pack of specially-designed postcards or a tour of the project before it opens.

Compton Verney is one of only five museums in the UK to take part in the project. To find out more, visit www.artfund.org/arthappens

Related topics:LeamingtonKineton