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5 Samuel Palmer visited, lived and worked in Shoreham, Kent from 1824 to c.1835. Such was the beauty of the valley that it motivated Palmer to produce what are widely considered to be his most creative and greatest works. He was a visionary artist, producing art inspired by poetry and his imagination, capturing the essence of the Darent Valley landscape. Although not very well-known at the time, Palmer's work went on to inspire generations of artists, including Graham Sutherland (who lived for a time in Eynsford and Farningham), John and Paul Nash, F.L. Griggs, Eric Ravilious, Edward Bawden, John Minton, Paul Drury and many other influential British artists. We are lucky enough to have been entrusted with works from a few of these artists for this exhibition. The Darent Valley Landscape Partnership Scheme (DVLPS) invited artists within the Sevenoaks and Dartford areas to submit works for an exhibition, in response to Palmer's body of work created during his time in Shoreham, Kent. The DVLPS team selected a range of works to reflect specific aspects of Palmer's creative methods and to support the stories told within the Samuel Palmer Trail, also commissioned by DVLPS. We invited those submitting works to use these Shoreham works as a point of inspiration, exploring the varied artistic techniques Palmer used – ink, watercolour, oil, gum arabic, pencil – or perhaps his fascination with shadows, moonlight or tree details, or it might be the visionary element of his work which appealed. Or, of course, the beauty of the Darent Valley landscape surrounding the village. The exhibition features facsimiles of a selection of Palmer's most important Shoreham works, together with responses from a variety of artists as well as collaborators from earlier DVLPS projects. A panel made a selection from the work submitted. Among those on the panel were Colin Harrison, Senior Curator of European Art at the Ashmolean Museum (and a Palmer specialist), Victoria Threlfall, artist and writer of the Samuel Palmer Trail (free to download as part of Darent Valley Trails on the DVLPS website or relevant app stores), Kit Boyd, a neo-romantic (and Palmer-influenced) artist who created the Darent Valley Line posters, and representatives from the Darent Valley Landscape Partnership Scheme and the Sir Peter Blake Gallery in Dartford. The exhibition is being held at both the Kaleidoscope Gallery in Sevenoaks from January to March 2024 and at the Sir Peter Blake Gallery in Dartford from March to May 2024, with other options on offer. Sarah Newman – Curator, DVLPS Introduction

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