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Gardens and Art
Online course
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Our courses are built using the latest Microsoft software. Tune in to expert lectures live or catch up on demand. Join discussions and continue your learning with downloadable handouts and presentations. Find out more >>
Explore the creative interplay between gardens and art. Glorious depictions of plants, flowers and verdant settings will be considered alongside a selection of iconic gardens. A feast for both eye and mind.
The garden is both an artistic space in its own right, and an ‘idea’ which has appealed to artists across time and geographical boundaries. Glorious depictions by both well- and lesser-known artists will be explored – from the garden paintings of James Tissot and Beatrice Parsons, to flower studies by Fantin-Latour, Ehret and Beatrix Potter, to the 20th-century Land Art movement. Gardens themselves will also be studied, including the grotto at the Medici villa Castello near Florence. Together, we will delight in the creative relationship between gardens and art, and uncover the representation of gardens in the V&A collection.
This course runs online every Thursday for 5 weeks. Not able to join live? You can also enjoy all of the course content on catch up at a time to suit you - plus you'll get an extra 5 weeks to catch up once the course ends.
For more details on how our courses work, see V&A Academy online questions · V&A.
This course is suitable for participants aged 18 and over.
This course runs online every Thursday for 5 weeks. Not able to join live? You can also enjoy all of the course content on catch up at a time to suit you - plus you'll get an extra 5 weeks to catch up once the course ends.
For more details on how our courses work, see V&A Academy online questions · V&A.
This course is suitable for participants aged 18 and over.
Course Leader
Christine Lalumia
Christine Lalumia lectures and writes on design, art and garden histories with a keen interest in cultural context. A consultant lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, she was deputy director of The Museum of the Home for 21 years and is lead-Convenor for the Seminar in Garden History & Designed Landscapes at the Institute of Historical Research.
These short courses give a really good introductory insight into a something you may want to discover more about, and at a pace and time that suits you. What's not to like! Previous V&A Academy Online course attendee
Course overview
A feast for both eye and mind, embark on a journey through the painted garden, stopping off in real gardens and landscapes along the way.
Weekly lecture topics include:
How to read the painted garden
Florence and the Medici
Modernism and 20th-century gardens
…and many more!
How to read the painted garden
Florence and the Medici
Modernism and 20th-century gardens
…and many more!
By the end of this course, you’ll understand the different ways artists have used plants, flowers and gardens in their work. You’ll learn about the role of gardens in art, their historical relationship with power, and the association between women and gardens, as well as the changing and experimental landscapes of the 20th century.
Ready to dive deeper? Take a look at the full course programme by clicking ‘download programme’ below.
V&A Academy. A learning environment you can trust.
Our courses are built using the latest Microsoft software. Tune in to expert lectures live or catch up on demand. Join discussions and continue your learning with downloadable handouts and presentations. Find out more >>
Enrol now
Online course: Gardens and Art
12 November 2026 - 10 December 2026
£125.00
Need help enrolling? Talk to the admissions team:
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Open 10.00 - 13.00, Monday to Sunday (closed 24-26 December)
