the season following

Harewood House
Harewood, North Yorkshire
23 January - 7 June, 2026

‘Charlotte Verity is a British artist based in Somerset renowned for her meticulously observed paintings of plants and flowers. The images seem as if they’ve just appeared spontaneously, such is her skill and deftness as a painter, but actually involve a long process of engagement with and observation of the natural world. Here at Harewood we have a long history of programming contemporary exhibitions in complement to the historic collections, gardens and landscape and this year we’re delighted to present this timely and important exhibition that invites us to journey with Charlotte Verity through the seasons.’ – Diane Howse, Countess of Harewood

Oculus, 2019, oil on two canvases, 87 x 220 cm
Installed in the Spanish Library, Harewood House, 2026

Watercolour monotypes are distributed amongst the oil paintings.

Here, transparent plates are painted in watercolour and put through a press transferring the image onto a single sheet of paper. The saturated colour and condensed format give these unique prints the intensity of a glance which stays in the memory.

This exhibition comprises over 50 works spanning the past fifteen years, including new oil paintings , watercolour monotypes and perviously unseen works.

It is laid out across several rooms tracing each of the four seasons in turn and reflecting the cyclical nature of the year.

Often painted outside, the works originate from direct observation and close looking. The artist has said: ‘as your brush moves across the canvas you are there with the branches. It’s a lovely journey. You never know where, or how, it will end’. Her brush responds to innumerable moments: flowers on the cusp, leaves about to be shed, branches temporarily stilled. It is life at its most ephemeral.

CV 3 02, 2024
watercolour monotype, 23.5 x 21 cm

To understand Winter ‘one must have a mind of winter’, wrote Wallace Stevens.

Twelve new watercolour paintings of poems are placed on mantelpieces through the exhibition. The poems have been chosen by the artist to recall particular seasons. The process of writing them out in paint, with a brush, is similar to her observational watercolours. Over time each letter is scrutinised, the form on the paper considered and numerous corrections remain visible. The language of the poetry is intended to ease the viewer into the mind of each season as they pass through the rooms.