Amongst the Trees and Terraces: Donald Towner (1903 - 1985) is the first exhibition in decades to celebrate the life and work of Hampstead-based painter Donald Towner. Spanning the interwar and postwar years, this exhibition traces Towner’s landscapes, cityscapes, and Hampstead views - capturing both the gentle beauty of the British countryside and the upheavals of a nation in recovery.

Donald Towner lived at 8 Church Row, Hampstead, from the late 1930s until his death in 1985. He was part of a convivial group including Randolph Schwabe (1885 - 1948), Towner’s drawing teacher at the Royal College of Art, the architects Maxwell Ayrton (1874 - 1960), and HV Ashley (1872 - 1945). In addition to his artistic career, Towner developed an expertise in British ceramics, specialising in the creamware produced in the eighteenth century. His paintings and collections are housed in museums and galleries across the UK, including the V&A Museum in London and Temple Newsam House in Leeds.

He was naturalist at heart, painting the English countryside with quiet reverence while also recording London in flux - including the rubble-strewn streets around St Paul’s Cathedral in the aftermath of WWII. In the postwar years, Towner was commissioned by the British Tourist Board to depict landscapes across the country, positioning art at the heart of Britain’s international image.

From rubble to renewal, Towner’s nostalgic works show Britain in transition as he juxtaposes romantic landscapes with the destruction of war and the rebuilding that followed. Amongst the Trees and Terraces: Donald Towner not only celebrates a Hampstead artist but also explores how art shaped Britain’s self-image during a period of profound change.