England 1968
- Artist: Richard Long CBE
- Date: 1968
- Medium: Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper and graphite on board
- Dimensions: image: 314 x 476 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the "England 1968" by Richard Long. A gelatin‑silver photograph printed on paper with a graphite line on board, it captures a moment of gentle intervention in a field. Long walks through the turf, gently marking his presence. In this image you can see a shallow impression in the grass, and two tidy lines of daisies arranged to form a clear ‘X’. Those lines, the daisies, and the tiny imprint are all temporary – they’ll vanish with the weather – but the photograph preserves them forever, turning a fleeting act into a permanent record.
Long has said, “These works are of the place, they are a rearrangement of it and in time will be reabsorbed by it. I hope to make work for the land, not against it.” The image reflects that philosophy: a subtle dialogue between human gesture and the natural landscape, a fleeting reshaping that returns to its original state. It’s a quiet meditation on ephemerality, land, and the idea that art can be a respectful, temporary dialogue with the environment rather than a lasting claim.
See it in person
England 1968 is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
