Edward Atkinson Hornel (1864-1933), one of the Glasgow Boy artists, travelled extensively during his life. He visited many countries including Myanmar (Burma), Sri Lanka (historically known as Ceylon), and Japan. Globetrotting in the late 19th and early 20 century was an arduous experience, which we often forget in this era of airline travel.
There was an enormous appetite in Europe for this new culture and Hornel benefited from the interest. His paintings from this period, influenced by what he had seen on his travels, were highly sought-after, and sold well at exhibition.
Hornel took photographs and collected souvenirs such as prints, posters, ceramics, catalogues, and fabrics. Many of these objects are in the collection at Broughton House in Kirkcudbright, cared for by the National Trust for Scotland, and include east Asian plant imagery. This summer, our charity has curated an exhibition at Broughton House inspired by this and highlighting the connection between the objects Hornel collected on his travels and the east Asian native plants now commonplace in British gardens.
The celebrations in Japan marking the arrival of spring and the cherry blossom are world-famous. Over the stepping stone pond in Broughton House Garden there is a fine example of a double pink flowering cherry (Prunus), believed to have been planted by Hornel. It is a marvel in spring, set against a cloudless, clear blue sky, as it scatters its blossom over the paths and pond, like confetti, heralding the start of a new growing season.
The Trust’s new exhibition includes Japanese Cherries, Vol. 1, the work of Japanese botanist Miyoshi Manabu, known as the ‘cherry professor’, which includes beautiful studies of cherry. A rare peony catalogue, which may have influenced Hornel’s planting in the garden, from the Yokohama Nursery Company Limited, Japan (1914) is on display, with exquisite hand-coloured images of peony for sale.
If you visit Broughton House Garden in early summer, you will see the beautiful blooms of both tree and herbaceous peony. Japanese maples define autumn with their vibrant display of red and yellow leaves. Among Hornel’s possessions is a sumptuous kimono decorated with silk maple leaves in striking reds and golds. The garden has several maples (Acer japonicum), which put on a fiery display to mark autumn and the dawn of winter.
Other plant images in the exhibition include bamboo, camellia, chrysanthemum, iris, lily, magnolia, and wisteria. A plant trail highlights the locations of many of these east Asian natives growing in the garden at Broughton House, helping visitors to connect the interior of the house with what’s growing outdoors.
As well as offering a fresh perspective on the heritage that the NTS cares for and shares at Broughton House, the exhibition celebrates the diversity of the charity’s heritage collections and what they can tell us about the tastes and stories of former times.
* The Plant Journeys exhibition at Broughton House was curated by Dr Minna Törmä, Senior Lecturer in History of Art at the University of Glasgow. Her research was supported with funding from the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
The exhibition runs until October 31, 2024. Broughton House is open Thursdays to Mondays. See: www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/broughton-house
