Nevill Johnson was a significant figure in Ireland’s art world in the mid-twentieth century.
Best known for quasi-abstract still-lives, interiors and landscapes, he was also a talented photographer.
Influenced by the painter John Luke, Johnson initially produced tempera works that reflected his increasingly Existential world view. In 1936, he and Luke travelled to Paris, where they saw works by Picasso, Yves Tanguy and Salvador Dali, the latter becoming a significant influence on Johnson, who, after his return to Belfast, produced a series of Surrealist paintings.
