Burgh House in New End Square, Hampstead, will host the show, Amongst the Trees and Terraces: Donald Towner, from March 5 to December 20, 2026, marking the first major exhibition in decades dedicated to the life and work of Donald Towner (1903–1985).
A painter and ceramics expert, Mr Towner lived at 8 Church Row in Hampstead for nearly 60 years, capturing English landscapes and postwar London with care and reverence.
Amy Miller, curator at Burgh House, said: “Donald Towner’s work offers us both tenderness and grit — Hampstead’s timeless beauty alongside the devastation and rebuilding of postwar London.
“This exhibition is not only a homecoming for an artist who lived and worked here, but also a chance to reflect on how art shapes our sense of place and identity.
“We are thrilled to bring together Burgh House’s collection with rarely seen pieces that shine a new light on Towner’s legacy.”
The exhibition will feature Mr Towner’s landscapes, city scenes, and views of Hampstead, documenting a nation in recovery while celebrating the quiet resilience of the British countryside.
Born in Eastbourne in 1903, Mr Towner trained at Eastbourne School of Art before earning a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, where he studied from 1923 to 1926.
He became close friends with artist Eric Ravilious during this time, and moved to Hampstead in 1927, remaining there until his death in 1985.
Mr Towner exhibited at the Royal Academy, the New English Art Club, and galleries including Leicester, Walker’s, and Beaux Arts.
His work is held in public collections in Carlisle, Leeds, and Sheffield, as well as the Towner Eastbourne, founded in 1923 with funds bequeathed by his great uncle.
He also completed ecclesiastical commissions, including the reredos at St Oswald’s Parish Church in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, Abbotsbury in Dorset, and St John-at-Hampstead Parish Church.
In the years following the Second World War, Mr Towner was commissioned by the British Tourist Board to paint landscapes across the country.
His paintings offered a vision of Britain that combined nostalgia and renewal, and helped shape the nation’s postwar identity.
Alongside Amongst the Trees and Terraces, Burgh House will also present Hampstead Vanished and Imagined, a collections showcase exploring lost landscapes and changing cityscapes.
This display will examine how neighbourhoods evolve while retaining their unique sense of place.
The exhibition will also include rarely seen paintings of Hampstead landmarks and features ties to Mr Towner’s remaining works in Hampstead Parish Church and Louis’ Café.
As part of the programme, Burgh House is collaborating with New End School and the Heath and Hampstead Society to explore the redevelopment of New End Hospital in the 1990s.
Amongst the Trees and Terraces: Donald Towner will run from Thursday, March 5 to Sunday, December 20, 2026.
Admission to the exhibition will be free.
