‘Paradise Lost’, in reference to the poem by John Milton, will present a view of the First and Second World Wars and their aftermath which characterised much of the innovative British art of the twentieth century.

The art during this period represents a powerful paradox of mourning and recovery, expressed in psychologically-charged paintings of sinister landscapes. Artists such as Ayrton, Minton, Nash and Piper returned to naturalism, infused with a kind of longing for an impossible reunion with the past, uncontaminated by modernity.

"The woods of Arcady are dead,
And over is their antique joy;
Of old the world on dreaming fed;
Grey Truth is now her painted toy;
Yet still she turns her restless head"
W. B. Yeats

Artists featured in this Curation: Michael Ayrton (1921–1975), Paul Nash (1889–1946), Matthew Arnold Bracy Smith (1879–1959), John Northcote Nash (1893–1977), David Macbeth Sutherland (1883–1973), Eric Ravilious (1903–1942), Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887–1976), William George Gillies (1898–1973), Winifred Nicholson (1893–1981), Duncan Grant (1885–1978), and 15 more See all

34 artworks

Storyline Album Showcase

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Winter Stream 1945
Michael Ayrton (1921–1975)
Oil on board
H 57.8 x W 83.3 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Wood on the Downs 1929
Paul Nash (1889–1946)
Oil on canvas
H 71.5 x W 92 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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A Yorkshire Landscape
Matthew Arnold Bracy Smith (1879–1959)
Oil on canvas
H 50.7 x W 60.9 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Walled Pond, Little Bredy, Dorset 1923
John Northcote Nash (1893–1977)
Oil on canvas
H 56.2 x W 76.4 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

The Loading, Landings, Newfoundland Lumberjacks at Work in Scottish Forest 1940
David Macbeth Sutherland (1883–1973)
Oil on canvas
H 61.1 x W 86.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

South Coast Beach 1939–1942
Eric Ravilious (1903–1942)
Watercolour on paper
H 43 x W 54.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Train Landscape 1940
Eric Ravilious (1903–1942)
Watercolour on paper (collage)
H 44.1 x W 54.8 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
1940, watercolour on paper (collage) by Eric Ravilious (1903–1942)

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Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Coastal Defences 1940
Eric Ravilious (1903–1942)
Pencil, pen, ink & watercolour on paper
H 41.8 x W 58.1 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Derelict Building 1941
Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887–1976)
Oil on canvas
H 43.3 x W 53.2 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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The Old Cinema 1933
Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887–1976)
Oil on canvas
H 43 x W 62 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Still Life, Pointed Lace 1947
William George Gillies (1898–1973)
Oil on canvas
H 87.6 x W 112.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Trees and Coppice 1928
William George Gillies (1898–1973)
Oil on canvas
H 89 x W 124 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Honeysuckle and Sweetpeas c.1945–1946
Winifred Nicholson (1893–1981)
Oil on board
H 45.5 x W 74.1 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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The Farm Pond 1930
Duncan Grant (1885–1978)
Oil on canvas
H 59 x W 81.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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The Barn at the Pond 1925
Duncan Grant (1885–1978)
Oil on board
H 60.1 x W 83.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Mount St Hilarion, Cyprus 1948
David Bomberg (1890–1957)
Oil on canvas
H 72.5 x W 92.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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One of the Stations of the Dead 1933–1937
Wyndham Lewis (1882–1957)
Oil on canvas
H 127.6 x W 75.8 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Northern Adventure 1929
Paul Nash (1889–1946)
Oil on canvas
H 92.7 x W 71.6 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Park Place, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire 1941
John Piper (1903–1992)
Oil on canvas on panel
H 45.8 x W 61.1 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Landscape and Windmill 1945
John Minton (1917–1957)
Oil on canvas
H 56.5 x W 76.5 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Image credit: Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

Seated Girl Holding a Piece of Sewing 1915–1925
Gwen John (1876–1939)
Oil on canvas
H 41 x W 33 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Pieta 1914
James Pittendrigh MacGillivray (1856–1938)
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Outcast Coal Production – Depositing Earth from Buckets 1943
Graham Vivian Sutherland (1903–1980)
Pencil, oil pastel & gouache on paper
H 70 x W 85.3 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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