A Passion for Landscape: Rediscovering John Crome celebrates the genius of a self-taught artist who began by painting pub signs and coach doors and left a legacy of some of the country’s loveliest landscape paintings. 

Many questions about the popular artist and teacher remain unanswered. “We don’t know why he didn’t sign his paintings. We don’t know a lot of things about his work. It’s infuriating!” said Giorgia Bottinelli. She was delighted to discover one of his letters in the Norfolk Record Office. Crome had been commissioned to report on the state of the civic paintings in St Andrew’s Hall, Norwich, and was distressed to find them being damaged by a mixture of dust, sweat and sparrow droppings (the hall was used as a corn market at the time.)   

Crome’s own paintings have been better treated. The Castle’s own collection has been joined by pictures from private collections, the Tate and the Victoria and Albert Museum.