Evergreen art: depictions of trees over the centuries – in pictures

Dating back to rock art made 25,000 years ago in north-eastern Brazil, through to 17th-century Dutch landscape paintings, to high-definition photographs modified with artificial intelligence, artists have long turned to trees for inspiration. A new book brings together a wide array of work by artists including Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Hilma af Klint and William Kentridge. “I am always amazed at how many ways trees can be depicted in art – paintings, sculptures, models, living art, photography, jewellery,” says Tony Kirkham, retired head of the arboretum at Kew’s Royal Botanic Gardens, who wrote the introduction to the book. “Each tree has its own character like a person: they are charismatic in their own right.”

Photograph: Art Institute of Chicago/Bequest of William McCormick

Photograph: Courtesy of William Kentridge/Private Collection

Photograph: Cornell University Library

Photograph: From the collection of Sharon Sekhon and Bob Drwila

Photograph: Yamatane Museum of Art, Tokyo

Photograph: © Tomas Sanchez

Photograph: Albin Dahlström/Courtesy Hilma af Klint Foundation / Moderna Museet-Stockholm

Photograph: Trevor Paglen Studio/Courtesy of: the Artist, Altman Siegel, San Francisco and Pace Gallery.

Photograph: Sisco Felicia/Sorigue Foundation

Photograph: Paul Terrie/Private collection

Photograph: World Digital Library