CHAT 9 - Visions of Albion: Samuel Palmer and William Blake

New date - Thursday 29th September 7.00pm

Rachel Campbell-Johnston is the former chief art critic and poetry critic for The Times. Her first book, Mysterious Wisdom: The Life and Work of Samuel Palmer, was published to great acclaim in 2011. The Child's Elephant is her first book for children.

In Visions of Albion she explores the formative influence of the ageing William Blake on the young Samuel Palmer. They met in 1824, when Blake was nearing the end of his life and Palmer was 19. Palmer shared Blake’s vision of an idyllic rural life and their relationship resulted in outstandingly original output from the younger man. Palmer’s English Arcadia was greatly influenced by Blake’s art, and it was Palmer who maintained Blake's memory in the decades following his death.