James Hart Dyke - Mont Blanc: The Summit Paintings

James Hart-Dyke - 'Mont Blanc: The Summit Paintings'

‘..in watching a sunset from Mont Blanc one feels that one is passing one of those rare moments of life at which all the surrounding scenery is instantaneously and indelibly photographed on the mental retina by a process which no second-hand operation can even dimly transfer to others.’

Leslie Stephen, The Playground of Europe, 1894.

^{James at work on Mont Blanc at Sunset with his Support Team - Pascal Tournaire}

In 1894, the author, biographer and mountaineer Leslie Stephen dedicated The Playground of Europe, one of the best known and loved books about the Alps, to his friend and painter, Gabriel Loppé.

"My Dear Loppé, Twenty-one years ago, we climbed Mont Blanc together to watch the sunset from its summit. Less than a year ago, we observed the same phenomenon from the foot of the mountain. The intervening years have probably made little difference in the sunset. If they have made some difference in our powers of reaching the best point of view, they have, I hope, diminished neither our admiration of such spectacles, nor our pleasure in each other’s companionship. If, indeed, I have retained my love of the Alps, it has been in no small degree owing to you."

^{The Summit Paintings Past - Gabriel Loppe's 'Sunset on Mont Blanc' (6 August 1873)}

^{The Summit Paintings Present - James Hart Dyke interprets the same view in 2022}

In July 2022, James Hart Dyke climbed Mont Blanc to paint from the summit at sunset. His objective was to reenact and emulate as closely as possible the conditions under which Gabriel Loppé (1825-1913), made his pair of summit paintings at sunset in August 1873 in the company of Leslie Stephen.

As one of the leading mountain painters of his generation, Hart Dyke was accompanied by a retinue of guides, a cameraman and climbers as he ascended the Grands Mulets Route. This is a variation of the original l’ancien passage, taken by Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel Paccard in 1786 on the historic first ascent of Mont Blanc.

Thanks to a weather window and judicious planning James was also able to spend nearly two hours on the summit from 8.15 pm to past 10 o’ clock and paint two pictures in situ. Although there was only a slight breeze, the temperature was between -15 and -20 Celsius.

^{'Shadow of Mont Blanc, Sunset' - James Hart Dyke}

Now James brings a series of 12 paintings from the climb, including the two works completed on the summit, to the Alpine Club's Charlotte Road exhibition space where the two summit pictures will hang alongside one of the two painted by Gabriel Loppé 150 years ago.

The exhibition will run from 28 November 2023 to 31 January 2024 and is open to visitors from 12:00 – 17:00 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as well as on London lecture evenings.

Visitors are kindly asked to book in advance by contacting the Alpine Club Office on 02076130755 or by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The official exhibition opening will be held on 5 December. Here, guests will have the opportunity to speak with James and hear him discuss his work in conversation with William Mitchell. The event is open to all, but we aske that you register your intention to attend in advance.

^{The Aiguille du Midi - James Hart Dyke}

^{Mont Blanc - James Hart Dyke}

John Mitchell Fine Paintings has been exhibiting James Hart Dyke’s paintings since 2002. His work is centred on landscape painting, from the domesticity of paintings of country houses to paintings generated from physically demanding expeditions over remote mountains. James has also undertaken a series of projects including accompanying HRH The Prince of Wales as the official artist on royal tours, working as ‘artist in residence’ for The British Secret Intelligence Service, working as an artist embedded with the British Forces in war zones, working for the producers of the James Bond films and as ‘artist in residence’ for Aston Martin. These projects required him to respond in many different ways and have allowed him to experiment with more graphic forms of painting influenced by his studies as an architect at the Royal College of Art. His portraits have been shown at the National Portrait Gallery and at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters exhibitions.

An Exhibition of Contemporary Mountain Photography

In 2023, the Alpine Club held a photo competition amongst its membership to seek out the best mountain photography from the past five years. After receiving over 100 entries, the four winners were selected by professional photographer John Cleare. The winning entries, along with a number of honorable mentions are now on display in the lecture hall at the Alpine Club's Charlotte Road premises.

^{Grand Gendarme of the Lenzspitze, ENE Ridge at dawn with the Weissmies and Lagginhorn behind by Michael de Csilléry}

The exhibition, which also features a number of historic monochrome photographs from the AC collection, will run from 12 September to 19 November and is open to visitors from 12:00 – 17:00 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as well as on London lecture evenings.

A 2024 calendar featuring the winning entires, as well as nine additional photographs from the competition, is available to purchase at the exhibition or online via the Alpine Club Shop.

No Substance But Light | Video Tour

Artist Heather Dawe leads a video tour of her exhibition 'No Substance But Light'. Taking us from Nanda Devi to the north of Scotland, Heather digs into the process of creating mountain art; contrasting her painstakingly produced works against some collaborations between her own art and the interpretations of artificial intelligence.

The exhibition will run until the end of July 2023 and can be visited between the hours of 12:00 and 17:00 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Please contact the Alpine Club Office on 02076130755 or by email on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to book your visit.

Heather Dawe Presents 'No Substance But Light'

In ‘No Substance But Light’ writer, artist and AI expert Heather Dawe brings together a selection of works which exemplify her long fascination with both the mountains and the creative process. Using oils, watercolours, pastels and a novel technique which synthesises art by combining her own sketches with AI art generation, Heather seeks to capture the lights, rich colours and physical feeling of the mountains.

While much of Heather’s inspiration comes from time spent in and around mountain landscapes, she is also fascinated by human creativity, which leads to her constant need to explore her own creative process. To a degree this is driven by her day-job as an AI thought leader in industry. As AI increasingly becomes a part of our lives, she believes we shouldn’t lose sight of the importance and value of our own intuitive and critical thinking, as they form the essence of what makes us human.

By displaying her personal, haptic works alongside those created with the aid of artificial intelligence, she hopes to encourage visitors to consider the increasingly blurred lines between human and AI art, reflecting on the impact that technology has on human nature.

Also featured in the exhibition are a series of oil paintings of Nanda Devi which Heather produced as part of her 2022 guest editorship of The Himalayan Journal. These will be displayed alongside oils and pastels of the Dolomites and Canadian Rockies, a series of watercolour and ink scenes of the Tour du Mont Blanc and some oils and pastels of places more close to home: the Scottish Highlands, Eryri, the Lake District and Yorkshire.

‘No Substance But Light’ will run from 10 May 2023 until 31 July 2023 at the Alpine Club’s premises of 55 Charlotte Road, London, EC2A 3FQ and will be open from 12:00 – 17:00 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Exhibitions