Published 16/06/2010
The Bridgeman Artists’ Copyright Service (BACS) is delighted to welcome the Estate of the distinguished British 20th century artist John Armstrong. |
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In the late 1920s recent developments in European art were increasingly on view in London including works by the artists Leger, Gris, Severini and de Chirico. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 ensured that the ‘30s were an uncertain period, embracing a renewed classicism and call to order, yet offered a diversity of influences to choose from. With Paul Nash, Armstrong co-founded UNIT ONE, whose manifesto declared the need for ‘structural purpose’ in British art. In contrast to the better known pictures by Nash, Piper, and Sutherland, Armstrong’s finest ruin pictures were not painted in wartime, although they echo his experience in the first world war when he was a gunner in the Balkans and mentioned in dispatches for ‘battering down Byzantine churches’. ‘ They are a unique episode in the long story of British artists’ fascination with ruins. |
Although Armstrong became increasing disabled by Parkinson’s disease in his later years, he continued to paint. At seventy-three he was elected an Associate member of the Royal Academy. |
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