A visit today to a man few will know. An artist who worked with stone creating images to illustrate other authors works. #JosephNash (1809 – 1878) was born in Great Marlow which is west of London. As a child he displayed aptitude for art and studied with Augustus Charles Pugin who specialised in writing about and drawing medieval architecture. Around 1830, Nash became interested in lithography. As his mentor was so was Nash. His early career saw him concentrate his work on architectural images and genre scenes. He was able to combine the authenticity of the architectural place settings with an historical romanticism portrayed by the people in his images. His most famous work might well be his illustrating of Sir D Wilkie’s “Oriental Sketches” but he created many large sets not just to compliment others works but on his own as well. The images displayed here are taken from his work ‘The Mansions of England in the Olden Time. Nash produced 104 lithographs in 4 volumes showing the famous and not so famous country homes found across England. A fifth volume accompanied the original four containing only text regarding the lithographs. It took ten years to complete the work – 1839 to 1849. Nash visited every house and recorded in detailed drawings his observations. From these sketches, he then created a romanticised image by adding people and animals in a tableaux of Tudor life. These images brought him fame and popularity.

I came across the first volume of 26 and added it to my collection this past week. They are fine works by a master craftsman.