John Nash

John Nash was a British painter, illustrator and printmaker, known for his landscapes and still lifes. Born in. 1893 in London, Nash was the younger brother of the artist Paul Nash, and both brothers would go on to become significant figures in British art. Unlike his brother, who received formal art education, John Nash was largely self-taught, developing his skills through keen observation and practice.

Nash was lauded for his sharpness and sensitivity of observation which he dedicated to his landscapes. His paintings are noted for their subtle use of colour, careful composition and the ability to capture the changing moods of the natural world. He was particularly drawn to rural England, with much of his work depicting scenes from the countryside, woodlands and gardens.

During World War I, Nash served in the Artists Rifles and later became an official war artist. His experiences on the Western Front had a profound impact on his work, leading him to create some of the most powerful and poignant images of the war. One of his most famous works from this period is Over the Top (1918, Imperial War Museum), which vividly depicts an assault during the Battle of Cambrai. The painting is stark and haunting, capturing the grim realities of trench warfare.

After the war, Nash continued to paint landscapes, returning to the serenity of nature as a counterbalance to the trauma of his wartime experiences. By the 1920s, Nash was an assured painter in oils. He became a prominent figure in British art circles, exhibiting regularly and contributing to the development of modern British landscape painting. He also taught at the Royal College of Art and the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, influencing a new generation of artists.

During World War II, Nash served again as a war artist, producing works that documented the British home front and the impact of the war on the landscape. His ability to convey the beauty and resilience of nature, even in times of destruction, remained a central theme in his work.

John Nash was independent and something of a maverick: more interested in painting the world as he saw it than in joining the Surrealists or the debate between abstraction and figuration. In complete contrast with his brother Paul, John was disinclined to promote himself. His work didn’t fit into the linear development of successive radical art movements so beloved of art historians and theorists. The last major exhibition of John Nash’s work in a public gallery was in 1967 at the Royal Academy. Since then, he has been overlooked and his work has been almost marginalised in the story of modern British art.

John Nash died in 1977, aged 84. Today, he is remembered as a master landscape painter, whose work continues to be admired for its technical skill, emotional depth and the profound connection he established between the natural world and the human experience.


JOHN NASH, R.A. (1893-1977)

A Window in Bucks

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

Tuscan Landscape

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

Misbourne Valley, Chalfont St. Peter

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

The Edge of the Orchard, Whiteleaf

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

Interior of a Wood, Whiteleaf

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

Landscape with Canal, Lock and Bridge

JOHN NASH, R.A. (LONDON 1893-1977 COLCHESTER)

Gravel pit deep in the forest, sunset

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

Spring landscape

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

Misbourne Valley

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

Walled Pond, Little Bredy, Dorset

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

The Mill Pool, Wormingford

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

Lane through a quarry

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

Weeping willows in a pond

Paul Nash (1889-1946)

Cottage in a windswept landscape

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

Still life of flowers

John Northcote Nash (1893-1977)

Landscape with Trees

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

Rendlesham Woods

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

Landscape near Boxted

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

Farm on a Hillside

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

Sandy bowl, wooded landscape, Cornwall

JOHN NASH, R.A. (LONDON 1893-1977 COLCHESTER)

The black barn at Bottengoms, Essex, winter

JOHN NASH, R.A. (1893-1977)

Hills near Kintail, Scotland

John Nash, R.A. (1893-1977)

Cows in the Shade

JOHN NASH, R.A. (LONDON 1893-1977 COLCHESTER)

The dead ash tree, a study for Dead Forest Giant

John Nash, R.A. (London 1893-1977 Colchester)

A landscape with trees near Kessingland

Drive the assailants right out of the pasture

Drive the assailants right out of the pasture