Nigel Ip

Donald Towner may not be a household name in British art, but he garnered a good local reputation in Hampstead for his landscapes and cityscapes during the interwar and post-war years. His last solo show was at Burgh House in 1985, shortly before his death. 41 years later, the same venue is giving his work an afterlife with its current retrospective.

Taking up only a single room in the Grade I listed manor house, the exhibition opens with a view from the upper floor of his house at 8 Church Row, where he lived with his mother Grace from 1937. Most of the works on show commemorate his immediate surroundings or parts of Hampstead Heath. Another picture shows a small gathering in his garden, right next to a portrait by Antony Ayrton of Towner playing the flute.

Towner was also an expert in ceramics, particularly creamware. He collected and painted many examples to inform his research, some of which can be seen in a nearby case. Alongside these is his watercolour set, which was probably used to paint Cuckmere Haven hanging above the fireplace. Directly opposite is St. Paul’s Cathedral (1946), an evocative picture showing the rubble immediately after the Blitz.

Finally, a display case presents a selection of archival material relating to his various exhibitions at the Leicester Galleries and at Burgh House. A eulogy given by Christopher Wade, the first curator of Burgh House, described Towner as ‘the happiest of the Hampstead artists, for all his joyful works.’

Amongst the Trees and Terraces: Donald Chisholm Towner (1903-1985) (5 March – 13 December 2026) is at Burgh House, London, https://www.burghhouse.org.uk/