FROM stunning 18th century watercolours to contemporary photographs, Bolton Museum’s new exhibition explores people’s relationship with landscape and its representation in art.

Making Landscape features work by some of Bolton’s most celebrated landscape watercolourists as well as modern and contemporary photographers.

Visitors are taken on a journey from beautiful serene landscapes to the sometimes wild conditions those living amongst those surroundings experience.

One of the earliest paintings in the exhibition is Ambleside by Francis Towne in 1786 with the most recent being by University of Bolton’s photography student Paul’s Cliff. His Pensarn – Llandanwg, was shown in the Royal Academy of Arts Exhibition’s Summer Show this year.

Matthew Watson, collection’s access officer for art and social history: “This is the first time Paul Cliff’s piece it has been shown in Bolton.

“It is brilliant. Paul would take one photograph on his journeys through the train window as part of his Escape Train project to show typical landscapes.”

And for the first time glass plate negatives dating back to the early 1900s have been developed especially for the exhibition.

The pictures were taken by Thomas Shires from Bolton, who was a master draper and a talented photographer.

Mr Watson said: “His family had a grocers in Bolton and because he would have had money he was able to indulge his passion for photography.

“The glass plate negatives were developed by Ian Beasley from the University of Bolton for this exhibition.

“The pictures capture the rural Bolton and the rural communities.

“He knew that Bolton’s industrial landscape was expanding and he went to the rural edges of Bolton where he has captured people living there.

“He died young at the age of 28, two or three years after he started taking photographs – a great talent cut short.”

Mr Watson added: “Ian has done a fantastic job, the images are very clear and sharp.”

Other pictures by the photographer capture Harwood, in particular Brookfold Farm, one of the oldest buildings in the area, with the date on the stone being 1681.

Mr Watson said: “Some of these painting have not been shown for many years.

“I started with around 150 pieces from the collection and cut those down to 50.

“Bolton Museum is really lucky to have this collection and it was really difficult to choose, but we are hoping to include other pieces and swap them throughout the exhibition.

“We wanted to put on the exhibition to, first of all so people could see the amazing landscape collection the museum has, and for people to see the work of great landscape artists such as Paul Sandby’s Windsor Great Park and images of landscapes closer to home in Bolton.”

Some pieces will be instantly recognisable including for walkers the West Pennine Moors, where the artist captures the rain sodden floor and the people who made the wild environment their home.

Photographs taken during the Mass Observation Project are also featured, with Humphrey Spender capturing the contrast between Bolton’s industrial and rural landscape in one piece.

The influences of Picasso can be seen in the works of Julian Trevelyn, who also took photographs to capture life in Bolton.

A sketch by L.S Lowry and paintings by Bolton-born artist Thomas Moran are also featured.

Youngsters are also invited to explore their creative talents by drawing their own landscapes and have them featured alongside the world’s greats in the exhibition.

Mr Watson said: “This exhibition is accessible to everyone, the paintings are hung quite low so children feel as if they are walking into a landscape

People can find out more about the exhibition on Monday, January 16 at 1pm, when Mr Watson, will give a talk on how the items are selected.