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1918 Paul Nash whole-plate glass negative by Bassano Ltd. © National Portrait Gallery, London |
Paul Nash was one of the most individual British artists of his period, taking a distinguished place in the English tradition of deep attachment to the countryside whilst at the same time responding imaginatively to European modernism. He saw himself as a successor of William Blake and Turner.
After training at the Slade School he served in the First World War, was wounded, and worked as an Official War Artist, his work including some powerful views of the pitted and shattered landscape of No Man's Land that rank among the most memorable images of the conflict.
Although his later career was varied and distinguished, many critics feel that his First World War paintings mark the summit of his achievement. In the 1920s and particularly in the 1930s he was influenced by Surrealism (above all by Giorgio de Chirico, an exhibition of whose work he saw in London in 1928)
and often concentrated on mysterious aspects of the landscape.
For much of this time he lived in rural areas (Kent, Sussex, Dorset), basing his work on scenes he knew well but imaginatively transforming them. However, he continued to be involved in the London art world, and in 1933 he was the prime mover in the formation of Unit One; he also helped to organise and exhibited in the International Surrealist Exhibition in London in 1936. In the Second World War he was again an Official War Artist. He was already very sick with the asthmatic condition that killed him, but his war work included an acknowledged masterpiece, Totes Meer (Dead Sea), which portrays shot-down aircraft with their wings looking like undulating waves.
Nash was regarded as one of the finest book illustrators of his time; he also designed scenery, fabrics, and posters, and was a photographer and writer, his books including a guide to Dorset (1936). His brother John (1893–1977) was also a painter and illustrator, excelling in meticulous flower drawings for botanical publications. Like Paul he was an Official War Artist in both world wars.
This is part 2 of a 7 - part series on the works of Paul Nash:
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1920c Costume Design (Golfing) for Karissima The Truth about the Russian Dancers, London Coliseum, 15 March 1920 |
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1920s Pattern Paper colour offset lithograph from wood engraving printed by Curwen Press Ltd. 30.5 x 47 cm Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
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before 1921 Portrait of Alice Daglish oil on canvas 61 x 45.8 cm |
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1921 Landscape, Stone Cliff pencil and watercolour 37.5 x 54 cm |
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1921 Pink Hyacinth oil on canvas 49.5 x 75 cm H.M. Government Art Collection, London |
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1921 Poplar Pond pencil and coloured crayons, lightly squared 14.6 x 11.4 cm |
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1921 Stone Cliff pencil, chalk and watercolour on paper 38.1 x 55 cm British Consulate-General, Chicago, IL |
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1921 The Valley pencil, coloured crayon and watercolour on paper 38 x 52.5 cm Private Collection |
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1921 Towards Shore pencil, chalk and watercolour on paper 35.6 x 50.2 cm The Whitworth, University of Manchester, UK |
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1921-22 Tench Pond in a Gale pencil, pen and ink and watercolour on paper 57.7 x 39.9 cm Tate, London |
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1922 A Rainy Day pencil, chalk and watercolour on paper 32.4 x 50.5 cm Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington |
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1922 Berkshire Downs oil on canvas 76 x 55.5 cm Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, UK |
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1922 Black Poplar Pond wood engraving 23 x 32 cm (image) |
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1922 Coast Scene, Dymchurch pen and black ink and watercolour 19 x 32 cm |
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1922 Dyke by the Road wood engraving The Cleveland Museum of Art, UK |
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1922 Dymchurch pen and ink and watercolour 2.7 x 4 cm (image) Commissioned for the Library in Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House Royal Collection Trust, UK |
1922 Dymchurch pencil and watercolour 20.3 x 33 cm Private Collection |
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1922 Exhibition Poster Alpine Club Galleries |
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1922 Garden Pond wood engraving on paper 12 x 13.5 cm Rye Art Gallery, Sussex, UK |
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1922 Path oil on canvas 72.5 x 49.5 cm |
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1922 Sussex Landscape pencil, coloured crayon and watercolour 26 x 47.3 cm |
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1922 The End of the Steps oil on canvas 50.8 x 61 cm |
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1922 The Shore (Dymchurch, Kent) pencil, pen and ink, watercolour, wash and crayon 20 x 32.5 cm |
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1922 Trees pencil, watercolour and pastel 28 x 39.5 cm |
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1922 Winter Wood wood engraving 14.6 x 11.4 cm (image) |
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1922-23 Granary oil on canvas 75 x 62 cm Brighton and Hove Museums and Art Galleries, Sussex, UK |
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1923 Self-Portrait wood engraving 39.8 x 28.6 cm |
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1923 The Shore oil on canvas 62.2 x 94 cm Leeds Art Gallery, UK |
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1923-38 Chestnut Waters oil on canvas 102.9 x 128.3 cm National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa |
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c1923 The Wall, Dymchurch engraving on paper 12.5 x 20 cm Tate, London |
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1924 Camber Castle pencil, watercolour and pastel 38.7 x 56.2 cm |
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1924 Interior, Pantile Cottage, Dymchurch oil on canvas 76.2 x 63.5 cm |
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1924 Mirror and Window oil on canvas 76 x 56 cm Private Collection |
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1924 Sandling Park, Kent oil on canvas 91.9 x 71 cm Manchester Art Gallery, UK |
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1924-44 Dymchurch Steps oil on canvas 66.4 x 101.8 cm National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa |
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1925 Design of Trees pencil and watercolour 56.2 x 39.3 cm British Museum, London |
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1925 Dymchurch pencil, chalk and watercolour 33.3 x 51 cm British Museum, London |
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1925 Landscape with Hill pencil and watercolour on paper 38 x 56.5 cm |
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1925 Nostalgic Landscape oil on canvas 71.2 x 50.8 cm New Walk Museum & Art Gallery, Leicester, UK |
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1925 Nostalgic Landscape study pencil and crayon squared for transfer 17.2 x 12.1 cm |
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1925 The Conservatory pencil and watercolour on white wove paper 56.9 x 39.8 cm Art Institute of Chicago, IL |
1924 Genesis Book With 12 Woodcuts On Zanders Hand-made Laid Paper
Printed by Curwen Press, published by Nonesuch Press:
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Publisher's Black Linen Binding 27.6 x 19.7 cm |
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Foreword engraving on Zanders hand-made laid paper 26.5 x 18.5 cm (sheet) |
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The Face of the Waters wood engraving |
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Creation of the Firmament wood engraving |
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The Dry Land Appearing wood engraving |
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Vegetation wood engraving |
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The Sun and Moon wood engraving |
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The Stars Also wood engraving |
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The Fish and the Fowl wood engraving |
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Cattle and Creeping Thing wood engraving |
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Man and Woman wood engraving |
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Contemplation wood engraving |
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