Appointed as a full-time war artist to the RAF, he was expected to paint portraits of aircrew. He had other, much better ideas.
landscape
After a visit to Berlin, his colours became more strident, and his brushstrokes looser. He also made many woodcuts, which influenced and informed his paintings.
At the height of his surrealism, his paintings were inspired by found objects, Freud, and the megalithic monuments of Wessex.
With early success, he painted the rich colours of summer in western Norway, and some magical scenes of foxgloves and Midsummer Eve.
Rainbows are one of nature’s grand spectacles. How careful, then, have painters been to get their colours in the ‘right’ order?
During the 1920s, he painted some of his finest conventional landscapes, and became overtly surrealist.
Natural Norway in the early 20th century, with its courting couple in a cowshed, watermills, dramatic fjords, and rugged hills.
Landscapes influenced by Blake and Palmer, then some of the strongest images of the First World War. The start of a remarkable career.
Probably the most sustained and brilliant series of narrative paintings since Rembrandt.
Comparison across a selection of his self-portraits and nudes shows how dramatically his style changed through his career.
The Eclectic Light Company 