PETERSFIELD is at the heart of a new county-wide exhibition celebrating the literature of Hampshire writers Jane Austen, Edward Thomas and Gilbert White.
Petersfield Physic Garden and the refurbished Petersfield Museum, opening next Tuesday, are centres showcasing sculpture, letter carving and works in other media for Inspired by the Word.
The contemporary exhibition comes as the centenary of the death of Steep poet Edward Thomas is being marked, as well as the bicentenary of the death of Jane Austen.
People who enjoy the peace and beauty of the Physic Garden will be able to admire a handful of sculptures engraved with quotes, by artists Lisi Ashbridge, Mark Evans, John Neilson and Jo Sweeting, which have been placed amid the blossom trees and topiary hedges. There is also a carved head beneath the orchard. These can be viewed until September 30.
Artists Penny Burnfield, Liz Clifford, Wendy Couchman, Gaynor Goffe, Caroline Webb and Susan Wood have taken their inspiration from the verse and prose of Edward Thomas, as well as the East Hampshire landscape about which he wrote.
These works can be viewed at the museum until April 22.
Gilbert White’s House at Selborne is another of the exhibition venues, as well as Chawton House Library, Winchester Cathedral and the Red House Museum and Gardens in Christchurch.
In the restored 18th century garden at Selborne see a display of lettering and sculptures based on quotations from The Natural History of Selborne and White’s poems and letters. These artworks by 13 arrtists are in place until September 30.
For more on Inspired by the Word, call 01794 301144.