20. Samuel Palmer 1805-1881 THE MAGIC APPLE TREE c.1830 Palmer spent a decade in the Kent village of Shoreham, hoping that the clean country environment would improve his poor health. While there, he was inspired to paint idyllic landscapes such as this one: a pastoral scene where man and nature are in a close and harmonious relationship. The shepherd and sheep are surrounded by a glowing, fertile paradise, which includes a bountiful apple tree, wheat fields and, at its heart, a church spire. Nature appears transformed. As Palmer wrote, ‘Sometimes, when the spirits are in Heav’n, earth itself, in emulation, blooms again into Eden.’