Nature in Art

Nature in Art is a registered charity owned and managed by the Society of Wildlife Art of the Nations (SWAN). It is housed at Wallsworth Hall, an impressive Georgian mansion set in several acres of parkland on the outskirts of Gloucester. The property was acquired by SWAN towards the end of the 1980’s and converted, at a cost of £1,000,000, to provide exhibiting space and a headquarters for the Society. The instigator of this project was Dr David Trapnell, a retired consultant radiologist, whose wife is wildlife artist Elizabeth Gray. Dr Trapnell's lifelong interest in natural history and art prompted him to sell his London home upon retirement and move to Gloucestershire.

He founded the Society in order to raise the funds to fulfil his dream of setting-up an international centre and art gallery devoted exclusively to natural subjects. The gallery was officially opened by Princess Alexandra in June 1989 and contains a continually developing collection encompassing works in all media and periods and depicting any wild living thing. The first President of the Society was Sir Peter Scott and its impressive list of officers and councillors included Dr David Bellamy, artist Keith Shackleton and wildlife photographers Heather Angel and Eric Hosking. The exhibits, which include sculptures, pottery, glassware and other 'tactile' items, range in time from a Byzantine mosaic to contemporary wildlife paintings by artists such as Sir Peter Scott and David Shepherd, their unifying factor being a wildlife theme or motif.