Paul Nash (British, 1889-1946)


Idea for the Set of Ibsen's Ghosts watercolour and pencil18 x 20.5cm (7 1/16 x 8 1/16in).Executed circa 1922
|ProvenanceWith Piccadilly Gallery, LondonThe Rt. Hon the Lord Clwyd, LondonLiteratureTheatre Arts Monthly, Gordon Bottomley, 'The Theatre Work of Paul Nash', January 1924, USA, pp.38-44Executed circa 1922, Nash's breakdown the year before had meant a turning away from oil paint and a renewed interest in designs for the theatre. He was influenced by the stage designer and director Gordon Craig and the Swiss stage designer Adolphe Appia, both of whom aspired to implement Richard Wagner's vision of the 'total work of art' in the theater. Henrik Ibsens's play Ghosts was written in 1881.