Nicholas Verrall is a distinguished British landscape artist whose work has often been compared to the French Impressionists. For the whole of his career he has dedicated himself to developing a contemporary vision of the impressionist legacy. By any measure, he has been extremely successful, collecting dozens of awards and gathering legions of fans. Nick studied at the Northampton School of Art before a short career working in picture conservation.
From 1971 he has won numerous prizes including The City of London Annual Exhibition Prize, the Abbot and Holder Prize and in 2015 the de Laszlo Medal. He was elected a member of The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) in 2010 and The Royal Society of Oil Painters (ROI) in 2011. His work has also been exhibited at the Royal Academy and is held in numerous private and public collections. In the current exhibition, the full range of Nick’s talent is on display.
Let’s go on a mini tour. We can start in hazy forested hills. From there we can zip over to Eastern France with ‘Chateau Chalon’. It’s a similar composition, but this time striking red and purple poppies threaten to overwhelm the pretty village in the distance. ‘Winter sun, Venice’ is not just a beautiful work it’s also a masterclass in how to paint water.
The way Nick depicts the sun refracting across the ripples of the Mediterranean is breath-taking. ‘Windsor Castle Evening’ is another technical showstopper, but this time it’s the moody cobalt sky rather than the sea that is the focus of Nick’s attention. These are just four of the many fantastic landscapes in the show. But there are other works that reveal a different side to work, but it shares a semi-abstract quality with the best impressionist paintings. The same quality is apparent in Blossom shadows can fragment an image and make something that is very easy to understand seem quite abstract.”
Come to the Catto to peruse these beautiful works up close and see how the echoes of 19th century impressionism are reverberating into the 21st.
