John Armstrong (artist)

[4] Armstrong served with some distinction in the Royal Field Artillery in Salonika during World War One before returning briefly to complete his studies at St John's Wood Art School.

After a period of some economic hardship, Armstrong began to build a career as a theatre designer in London and to gain a client base for his artworks.

He received a commission to decorate a room in the Portman Square home of the art collector Samuel Courtauld, and also painted a frieze for the ballroom at 1 Kensington Palace Gardens.

In paintings such as The Elms and A Farm in Wales he recorded bomb damage to buildings such as churches and cottages showing broken walls and empty rooms open to the elements.

In 1955 he designed and painted the ceiling of the Council Chamber for the City Hall, Bristol and also created a light-hearted mural, The Fantastic Park, for the Royal Marsden Hospital in Surrey.