ADVENT SNOW SCENE

Snow Scene by Paul Nash (1889–1946)

This print is one of a group of eight wood engravings made by British surrealist artist Paul Nash in 1919, the year he first began using the technique, and it featured in the Society of Wood Engravers’ second exhibition in November 1921. The design was also used for a Christmas card.

This particular impression of the print is unique – after Nash had inked the block, he partially wiped the sky, making it appear silvery grey rather than black. The snowy, landscape scene is likely a view in the Chilterns, in Buckinghamshire, where Nash had lived as a boy, and where he returned after serving as a war artist in World War I. Several other prints of this early group include wooded landscapes, featuring elms and other trees.

Nash later moved to Dymchurch in Kent, where he developed an interest in more geometric compositions, and his works would become increasingly abstract and surreal throughout the 1930s and 40s.

Snow Scene
Paul Nash (1889–1946)

Woodblock print
WA1971.3

Not currently on display
Find out about visiting our Western Art Print Room