Commissioned by Walter Hussey to paint “The Crucifixion”
Walter Hussey, vicar (other accounts say canon) of St Matthew’s Church in Northampton and an important patron of modern religious art, commissions “The Crucifixion” from him. It becomes his first major religious painting and his first large figure study.
December 1944
Sent to France to depict raid damage
In December 1944 he is sent to France to depict the damage inflicted by the RAF on the railway yards at Trappes and on the flying bomb sites at Saint-Leu-d’Esserent.
1946
First exhibition in New York
His first New York exhibition is held in 1946. That same year he also teaches painting at Goldsmiths’ School of Art.
spring 1947
First trip through the south of France: Picasso and Matisse
In spring 1947 he travels through the south of France for the first time, visits Antibes and meets Picasso and Matisse in person. The landscapes of the Côte d’Azur make a strong impression on him: from then until the 1960s he spends several months on the Riviera every year.
