In the Trees 1951

Editor: So, we're looking at Peter Lanyon's "In the Trees" from the Tate. It's quite abstract, with bold black lines against a textured green. It feels like a memory of a place, rather than a literal depiction. What do you make of it? Curator: It's a feeling, isn't it? Lanyon's Cornish landscapes are always so deeply felt, almost visceral. I see the influence of the coast and the windswept trees—that horizontal line dividing the canvas could be the horizon itself. Do you sense that connection to place? Editor: I do, now that you mention it. The green could be the fields, and the black, gnarled branches reaching up. Curator: Exactly! And notice how the abstract shapes almost become figures, lurking within the landscape. It's a dance between abstraction and figuration, memory and place. Editor: That interplay is fascinating. I'm definitely seeing more than just a pretty picture now!