ICONIC images of the British landscape, including some local scenes, go on show at the National Trust’s Mottisfont this summer.

Invoking a spirit of escape and adventure, posters commissioned by Shell from the 1920s to the 1950s featured historic landmarks and inspiring scenes of British countryside, brought vividly to life by artists such as Paul Nash, Graham Sutherland, Rex Whistler and Vanessa Bell.

Discovering Britain: the Shell Heritage Art Collection at Mottisfont, near Romsey, includes more than thirty posters and original artworks. Other material commissioned by Shell, including wall charts, film and travel guides, will also be on show.

This is a new and unique exhibition, on loan from the Shell Heritage Art Collection based at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu.

The Shell Heritage Art Collection is one of the most important collections of commercial art in Britain, spanning years of advertising campaigns. Mottisfont’s exhibition focuses on the early twentieth-century period, when Shell’s advertising was driven by ideas of travel and discovery, featuring the slogans ‘See Britain First’ and ‘Visit Britain’s Landmarks’. Exquisite artwork depicting quirky and interesting places encouraged drivers to get on the road and explore the British Isles.

Mottisfont’s exhibition features a number of recognisable local scenes. Edward McKnight Kauffer created an evocative winter landscape of the New Forest, with dramatic tree branches reaching up against a moody sky. Both the poster and Kauffer’s original artwork will be on show.

National Trust land and properties are another prominent feature of the exhibition. Vanessa Bell created a shimmering view of Alfriston; the Clergy House here was the first property acquired by the Trust in 1896. Other National Trust landmarks include a stunning rendition of Giant’s Causeway by John Roland Barker, and a sweeping scene of Box Hill in Surrey by Charles Mozley.

The works on show reflect a diversity of artistic styles emerging in Britain after the First World War. Jack Beddington, Shell’s publicity manager in the 1930s, selected and commissioned these then up-and-coming artists to produce designs for this campaign, as he did later for the Lyon’s Teashop lithographs, previously exhibited in Mottisfont’s gallery. Some of these artists went on to become famous names in British contemporary art.

A number of the artists included in the exhibition also feature in Mottisfont’s own collection of twentieth-century art, donated to the property by artist Derek Hill in honour of his friendship with the Russells, Mottisfont’s last owners.

The exhibit runs from May 6 to July 2. Mottisfont’s gallery opens at 11am and closes at 5pm.