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

This is a watercolour sketch of Ipswich Docks, almost certainly executed in 1923, the same year as an oil painting that shows almost the same view, and of a similar watercolour owned by Ipswich Borough Council Museums and Galleries. The unfinished area in the left foreground shows the bow of a Thames Barge. Nash painted harbour scenes throughout the 1920s and 1930s, returning twice to Bristol (1924 and 1938) and also visiting Great Yarmouth. It was perhaps for this reason that he was appointed to the Admiralty as a war artist in 1940, although his career was brief; he worked for Naval Intelligence for most of the war.

We are very grateful to James Russell for preparing this catalogue entry.