Campo

1980 — In this book Gordon Beningfield celebrates a classic countryside that was once typical of much of England but is increasingly falling victim to modern intensive farming and the spread of urbanization. Gordon Beningfield"s world is centred on the gentle, rural landscapes of Hertfordshire and the open downs and lush valleys of Dorset. Here are the dense, leafy hedgerows with their rich variety of flowers, offering cover to a wealth of creatures but only a hindrance to the plough. The lush, sweet-scented water-meadows he portrays so evocatively are equally shrinking before the onslaught of mechanical diggers and drainage schemes promoted by those who see the balance sheet of the countryside as being purely a matter of finance. Even the broad-leaved woods, which provide tantalizing glimpses of deer and badgers, cannot compete as a cash crop with alien conifers. Gordon Beningfield captures the essence of a countryside that man has created in harmony with nature and which he is now inexorably destroying. Gordon Beningfield is almost unique among artists who have made a reputation painting wildlife since he is also a perceptive and gifted landscape painter."141p. index Donor inscription on ffep, else fine Book