Artists & Illustrators - UK (2019-11)

JOHN NASH

Nash had a deep feeling for landscape,

as can be seen in The Edge of the Plain

J

ohnNashis the

quintessentialpainterofthe

Britishlandscape,whose

mostfamouspainting,1918’sThe

Cornfield, representsanidealcloseto

theveryheartofEnglishness.Bornin

1893,hewasalsoa distinguished

warartist(inbothWorldWars),a

superbwoodengraverandinventive

illustratorofsome 50 books,an

inspiredwatercolouristand

draughtsmanwhoseworkhasalways

commandedthegreatestrespectand

affectionamongfellowartists.

Whythenis hesolittleknownto

thegeneralpublic?Theansweris

simple:hisbrother.PaulNashwas

John’solderbrotheranda very

differentcharacter,beinghugely

ambitious,determinedlyavant-garde

andverygoodatself-promotion.

Althoughthebrothersgotonwell

together(JohnadoredPaul),

Paul’sself-builtreputationhas

longovershadowedJohn’smodesty.

There’sa pencildrawingbyJohn

whichaptlysumsthisup:thevery

tallfigureofPaulloomslargeover

John,effectivelyblockingoutthesun

intheprocess.Thatsaysit all.

Yetit wasnotalwaysthus.When

theyfirstbegantoestablishtheir

reputations,beforetheFirstWorld

War,theywereconsideredtobe

prettymuchlevelpegging,with

Johnoftenhavingtheupperhand.

Naturallygifted,Johnwasself-taught

andnothamperedbythedistractions

ofartschoolwhichoftenconfuse

manyyoungartists(Paulattended

theSlade).Hisearlytalentforcomic

drawingblossomedintoa lyrical,

lineargiftforlandscape,andhetook

tooilswitha greaterunderstanding

ofthemediumthanPaul.

LookatJohn’searlypainting,

A GloucestershireLandscape.

Thiswaspaintedin 1914 fromdirect

observationaroundCleveHill,on

theedgeofCheltenham,thehighest

pointintheCotswoldHills.It washis

firstoilpainting.AlthoughJohndid

experimentwithpaintingenpleinair,

thatapproachneversuitedhimfor

oilsandhetendedtomakedrawings,

watercoloursorgrisaillesonthe

spot,andthenworktheseuplater

inthestudio.

A GloucestershireLandscape

is remarkableasa firstattempt,

andalthoughit is insomewaysa

compositeimage,withtheforeground

differingsomewhatfromthe

mid-groundandbackground,it

neverthelessworks.Tentativeand

experimentalit maybe,butit is also

surprisinglyeffective.

OBSERVINGNATURE

Johnwantedtopainteverythinghe

rememberedwhileit wasstillfresh.

Hisremarkablepowersofvisualrecall

werenodoubtestablishedandhoned

byhisearlypracticeofobserving

nature.Mostpeopleseebutdonot

ABOVE The Edge of

the Plain, 1926,

oil on canvas,

50.8x61cm

RIGHT

A Gloucestershire

Landscape, 1914,

oil on canvas,

51.2x61.5cm

OPPOSITE PAGE The

Cornfield, 1918,

oil on canvas,

68.6x76.2cm

© BRIDGEMAN IMAGES/PHOTO ©TATE/ASHMOLEAN MUSEUM, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD/THE FITZWILLIAM MUSEUM, CAMBRIDGE/THE ESTATE OF JOHN NASH

Artists & Illustrators 39