Babington House

The Babington House art collection was refreshed by Kate Bryan, Global Director of Art, in 2020 and features nearly 40 artworks by a mix of well-known artists and emerging talent. The collection is a celebration of local Somerset artists and the countryside around the House. The two most notable local artists have key spots in the House: Daisy Parris and Sam Taylor-Johnson. Such is the wall power of Parris’s large oil painting that it is able to hold the entire Orangery dining space. They are an artist who commands an idiosyncratic language, which feels intimate yet demanding. Taylor-Johnson is an internationally recognised name in both art and film, as well as a long-time neighbour of Babington House. In these large-scale photographic works, she interrogates the relationship between identity and appearance, authenticity and artifice. The works are displayed on mirrors in the main bar, further heightening their illusionistic qualities. 

In 2020, Tom Howse created a suite of drawings after spending time at Babington House. A quiet love letter to the buildings and landscape, he captured the site in his characterful undone style. Displayed as a full salon wall in the Library, they are an alternative take on the British tradition of country house portraits. Three drawings by Peter Blake, which he produced during his stay at the House one Christmas, are also now on display. Peter Matthews’ mixed-medium piece hangs in the entrance hall, incorporating items you might find on a country walk, including clay, thread, oil and earth.