Versatile artist, notable for landscapes and townscapes influenced by the School of Paris, whose media included oil-sand and polyester resin. He was born in Leipzig, Germany. Studied at Castelli Italian Art School in Dresden, 1933–5, but learned much in galleries of London and Paris. In 1937 Nessler emigrated from Nazi Germany to England, was interned when World War II broke out, then served in British Army until 1946, settling in London from 1947. Shortly before leaving Germany, Nessler had courageously produced Das Hitler ABC, each letter of which lampooned, often savagely, Hitler’s characteristics. In Dresden, Nessler had met his first wife, Prudence Ashbee, a dancer studying at the Wigman School, a daughter of the British Arts and Crafts architect and designer C R Ashbee, who had established a community of craftsmen at Chipping Camden.
Text source: 'Artists in Britain Since 1945' by David Buckman (Art Dictionaries Ltd, part of Sansom & Company)
