In the Frame: Charlotte Verity brings the seasons indoors at Harewood

There is something quietly radical about slowing down. About looking closely. About letting art ask you to pause rather than rush on. As In the Frame launches as a new series celebrating art and culture across Leeds, it feels only right to begin with an exhibition that invites exactly that kind of attention. This winter, Harewood House opens 2026 with a first-of-its-kind exhibition by British artist Charlotte Verity, bringing the rhythms of the natural world into the heart of one of Yorkshire’s most remarkable historic homes.

The Season Following marks a significant moment in Verity’s career. It’s the first time she has exhibited within a historic country house and the first time her work has been shown extensively in the north of England. Spanning more than 20 years, the exhibition brings together paintings and prints that chart time, growth and change, with several works being shown publicly for the first time.

Verity is best known for her meticulously observed paintings of plants and flowers, but this is not botanical art in the traditional sense. Her work grows out of decades spent immersed in her own garden, painting outdoors through every season, then returning to the studio with gathered fragments of the natural world. While her subjects may be fleeting, the paintings themselves unfold slowly, becoming deep meditations on time, attention and the wider world beyond the frame.

At Harewood, those ideas are given space to breathe. Visitors will move through five of the House’s grand state rooms, experiencing the exhibition as a journey through the seasons. Beginning in winter, the works shift through spring, summer, and autumn before returning once more to winter in a powerful full-circle moment. The effect is immersive but intimate, encouraging visitors to linger, look again and notice the beauty in subtle change.

Threaded throughout the exhibition is a series of painted poems, both historic and contemporary, each responding to the seasons in its own way. Elsewhere in the House, rarely displayed pieces from Harewood’s collection, including exquisite Sevres porcelain, sit in quiet conversation with Verity’s work, adding further layers of texture and history.

Zoë Hughes, Head of Public Programme at Harewood House Trust, describes the exhibition as a natural fit for the place itself. Harewood’s landscape and gardens are among the great achievements of English landscape gardening, bringing art and nature together on a monumental scale. Launching 2026 with The Season Following reflects a wider ambition to help visitors experience Harewood through every season, not just the height of summer.

For Verity, the setting has shaped the exhibition in a deeply personal way. Showing work across this sequence of rooms has allowed her to mirror her own process, with each painting rooted firmly in its season. Every piece represents hours of close observation and careful looking, and her hope is that visitors leave seeing the natural world just a little differently than before.

Winter plays a particularly important role. At a time when the natural world is often overlooked, the exhibition reframes winter as a season of beauty, rest and reflection. It also offers a gentle reminder of the restorative power of art and nature, something Harewood continues to champion through both its programme and its landscape. A walk through the gardens afterwards, perhaps catching the Daphne bholua Jacqueline Postill in bloom in the Himalayan Garden, feels like a natural extension of the experience.

Alongside the exhibition, families will find plenty to explore throughout the winter months. Harewood’s 140 acres provide space for outdoor adventure, from the Adventure Playground to the Woodland Wonderland and the Sylvascope Treehouse, all included with admission. Children can collect Nature Safari Bags, spot wildlife around the lake, or head inside to the Servants Hall Family Fun Space for creative activities that shift with the seasons.

There is also a Charlotte Verity inspired family trail, alongside regular favourites like the monthly LEGO Club and Saturday Craft Club, making this a visit that works for every age.

Vitals: Charlotte Verity, The Season Following
Location: Harewood House, Harewood, Leeds LS17 9LG
When? 23 January to 7 June 2026, Opening times vary. Check the Harewood website for details
Tickets: From £27.95 adults, from £12.95 children. Concessions available. £2 tickets for those in receipt of Universal Credit, Pension Credit, DLA and PIP. Free for Harewood members and under 4s. Book online or bby ringing 0113 218 1000

The Season Following is not just an exhibition you walk through. It is one you experience slowly, in your own time. A reminder that art, like nature, rewards those willing to stop and really look.