John Armstrong ARA

John Armstrong ARA (1893–1973) was a British painter, muralist and designer whose work moved between Surrealism, abstraction and carefully constructed figurative imagery. He is particularly associated with the development of British modernism in the 1930s and with Unit One, the influential group founded by Paul Nash that brought together artists including Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and Edward Wadsworth.

Born in Hastings, Sussex, Armstrong studied briefly at St John’s Wood School of Art before serving with the Royal Field Artillery during the First World War. After the war he developed a wide-ranging career that encompassed painting, theatre and film design, murals, book illustration and commercial work. His first solo exhibition was held at the Leicester Galleries in 1928, and in 1933 he joined Unit One. During this period his paintings increasingly incorporated Surrealist imagery and symbolism.

Armstrong also established a significant reputation as a designer. He worked extensively for the theatre and ballet and, during the 1930s, for Alexander Korda’s film studios, where he became Head of Costume at Denham Studios. He produced designs and murals for clients including Shell-Mex and ICI, and his ability to move between fine and applied art remained an important feature of his career.

During the Second World War Armstrong served as an Official War Artist, recording aspects of the Home Front. The experience had a lasting effect on both the imagery and atmosphere of his painting. In the post-war period he received a number of major public commissions, including a mural for the Festival of Britain in 1951, work for Bristol Council House, and a mural for the Royal Marsden Hospital in Surrey.

Armstrong was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1966. A memorial exhibition was organised by the Royal Academy and the Arts Council in 1975 and toured to several British museums. His work is held in numerous public collections, including Tate, the Imperial War Museums, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, the Government Art Collection and Pallant House Gallery.