John Piper was a British artist whose dynamic works transformed the way we see landscapes and architecture. Renowned for his expressive use of color and texture, Piper drew inspiration from the beauty of the British countryside and its historic buildings, capturing their essence in his paintings, collages, prints and drawings.
John Piper made artwork very often inspired by landscapes and architecture. He used a range of processes to make his expressive and energetic landscapes, often exaggerating the formal qualities of line, texture and colour. He also painted, printed, illustrated books and made stained glass windows!
Top Facts about Artist John Piper:
- He was born in 1903, in Epsom, Surrey, England, and died in 1992.
- His full name is John Egerton Christmas Piper!
- Piper studied at Epsom College, the Richmond School of Art, and the Royal College of Art.
- During World War II, Piper served as an official War Artist, recording bomb-damaged landmarks, most famously capturing the ruins of Coventry Cathedral.
- He designed iconic stained-glass windows for Coventry Cathedral (with Patrick Reyntiens) and Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, alongside tapestries, ceramics, stage sets, and fabric prints.
- As a child he went exploring on his bicycle and drew and painted pictures of old churches and monuments on the way.
- He started making guide books complete with pictures and information at a young age.
- Piper was persuaded to be an official war artist from 1940-44, and was one of only two artists commissioned to paint inside Air Raid Precaution (ARP) control rooms.
Through his work, especially as a war artist during World War II, Piper infused everyday scenes with passion and emotion, inviting viewers to appreciate the deeper stories hidden in the world around them.
Piper loved looking at British landscapes and buildings, and often used these as inspiration for his artwork, he particularly liked to focus on objects in the landscape such as monuments, churches and landmarks.
John Piper continued to focus on landscapes when he was appointed as an official ‘war artist’ at the start of the second world war. Piper would travel around the country to capture buildings that had been bombed and destroyed in the war.
Drawings by John Piper
Piper would use a range of materials to capture the different landscapes, including newspaper, ink, acrylic paint, watercolour paint and collage. He used these methods to capture dramatic landscapes and be able to fully explore surface and mark-making. Piper created pieces with a huge range of shadows, textures and moods.
What themes within ‘Landscape Art’ do you think John Piper was interested in? Texture? Light? Movement? Mark-Making? Or something else?
DOWNLOAD this page below, for free, as an Artist Research handout to use in your lesson. It includes all of the facts and images, and has questions for students to answer.
Hello. My son has just chosen Places and Spaces as his GCSE Exam project and he enjoys drawing particularly gothic architecture and floral/natural landscapes. Do you think John Piper would make a good choice for his first artist research? He’s keen on Ian Murphy but he seems to be more architecture and tonal drawings. Maybe a good starting point. Ultimately, my son wants to combine architectural drawings entwined with trees and flowers, bringing nature into the fabric of the building, but when googling I can’t find any artists doing that … some pointers as to which artists to look at would be much appreciated. He struggled before with how to link artists to his theme and showing a cohesive journey through his sketchbook.
Thanks for getting in touch – I have just emailed you 🙂