Nash, Paul (1889-1946), was one of the most important English painters of the 1900’s. Nash considered himself part of the English landscape tradition as represented by such artists as J. M. W. Turner and William Blake in the 1800’s. Nash also played an important role in the emergence of modern art in England.
Nash was born in London on May 11, 1889. He was educated at St. Paul’s School and attended the Slade School of Fine Art in 1910 and 1911. Nash enlisted in the British Army in 1917 and was wounded during World War I (1914-1918). He returned to the front as an official war artist. His paintings of the blasted landscape of the battlefields became some of the most powerful and familiar images of the war. These paintings, such as We Are Making a New World (1918), are among Nash’s finest works.
From 1921 to 1935, Nash lived primarily in rural England, where he painted scenes from the countryside in a highly personal decorative manner that sometimes came close to an abstract style. An example is Landscape from a Dream (1938). During the 1920’s and 1930’s, he came under the influence of Surrealism. The mysterious aspect of Surrealism was reflected in such Nash landscapes as Monster Field (1939). In 1933, Nash helped found Unit One, a group of English modern artists that included Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, and Ben Nicholson. He also helped organize an exhibition of Surrealist art in 1936 in London. Nash served as an official war artist again during World War II (1939-1945). The war inspired one of his most famous paintings, Totes Meer (Dead Sea, 1941). His last paintings were intense and mystical landscapes and symbolic scenes.
In addition to his painting, Nash was also an acclaimed book illustrator and designed stage scenery, fabrics, and posters. He was also a photographer and author. His writings were collected in Outline: An Autobiography and Other Writings (published in 1949, after his death). He died on July 11, 1946.
