Correspondence from the British Council to Paul Nash

This material is held atTate Archive

  • Reference
    • GB 70 TGA 7050/163-208
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1939-1946
  • Physical Description
    • 53 pieces

Scope and Content

TGA 7050/190 & TGA 7050/207 are to Mrs Nash. Other correspondents are; B.M. Bellasis, A.M. Everard, L.I. Harvey, T.F. Lindsay, Miss M. McLeod, J.S. Orwin, Betty Sants, Lilian Somerville, Richard Walker and J.L. Wikham.

The letters illustrate the role of the British Council and the exhibitions of British Art it organised as "cultural propaganda" (TGA 7050/185), which were shown in neutral and allied countries during the Second World War. The majority of the letters are from Alfred Longden, the eventual Director of Fine Art for the British Council, discussing the transportation of Nash's paintings and dealing with requests for the loan of Nash's work to international galleries. Some of these paintings were in exhibitions in safe countries at the beginning of the war, subsequently it was deemed sensible that they should not be returned to Britain until the conflict had subsided (TGA 7050/169). The collection includes correspondence relating to exhibitions of his work in Canada, North, South and Central America, Iceland, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Egypt, and with the arrival of 1945, France. Also a letter proposing exhibitions in Russia and China (TGA 7050/184), a letter requesting Nash to give a lecture for the British Council (TGA 7050/201), five exhibition forms and one receipt relating to Nash works on loan, and an invitation to a private view of "British Art of the Past Thirty Years", Greek House, London (TGA 7050/180a). Two letters are arranging meetings; between Nash and artist Nikos Hadzikyriacos-Ghikas (TGA 7050/202) and Major Longden at a show of Chinese watercolours (TGA 7050/205).