Nash, Paul

Nash, Paul (1889–1946). English painter, book illustrator, writer, photographer, and designer. 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, creating memorable images of the devastation the war wrought on the countryside. In the 1920s and particularly in the 1930s he was influenced by Surrealism (above all by de Chirico, an exhibition of whose work he saw in London in 1928) and often concentrated on mysterious aspects of the landscape (Monster Field, 1939, Durban AG). 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. In 1933 he was the prime mover in the formation of Unit One, and he helped to organize 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 he produced one of the best-known works to be inspired by the conflict, Totes Meer (Dead Sea) (1940–1, Tate, London), 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.