Main content

10. Beginnings and Endings

Episode 10 of 10

Alexandra Harris concludes the story of how the weather has written and painted itself into the cultural life of Britain.

Alexandra Harris concludes the story of how the weather has written and painted itself into the cultural life of Britain.

In Oscar Wilde's essay 'The Decay of Lying', a character proposes that we see in nature what art shows us to be there. He contends that the London fogs barely existed before artists started painting them.

Then suddenly there were Whistler effects every night in Battersea and Monets rising up from the Thames. Art, he says, invented the fog. Well, that may be ridiculous, but perhaps there's a wisp of truth in it.

Music by Jon Nicholls.

Producer: Tim Dee

First broadcast on 成人快手 Radio 4 in May 2016.

Available now

14 minutes

Last on

Fri 7 Jun 2024 09:30

Broadcasts

  • Fri 20 May 2016 13:45
  • Sun 15 Nov 2020 00:15
  • Fri 7 Jun 2024 09:30

Weather animations

Watch a series of charming films about our historical relationship with the weather.