Herbert Ashwin Budd
Herbert Ashwin Budd was a British painter whose work captured the quiet poetry of the English landscape and the everyday rhythms of rural life. Born on 10 January 1881 at Ford Green, Smallthorne, near Stoke-on-Trent, Budd grew up in a household that valued education and craftsmanship. He was the only son of Thomas Budd, a surgeon’s assistant, and Henrietta Octavia Budd (née Ashwin), and the third of four children.Budd’s artistic promise emerged early. By the age of twenty he was working as an apprentice lithographer in Hanley, an experience that grounded his later practice in strong draughtsmanship and an understanding of print design. Alongside his trade, he trained at Hanley School of Art between 1903 and 1907, where his talent was evident enough to earn him a coveted scholarship to the Royal College of Art, South Kensington.
At the Royal College of Art, Budd refined his skills as a painter and became part of a new generation of professional artists working in Britain at the start of the twentieth century. By 1911 he was living and working in Chelsea as an “artist painter”, producing landscapes and figure compositions in oil and watercolour. His work soon gained national recognition.
From 1908 until 1948, Budd exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy, contributing paintings that reflected both his technical assurance and his sensitivity to light, space, and atmosphere. He also showed work at the New English Art Club and the Paris Salon, extending his reputation beyond Britain. In 1921 he became a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, further cementing his standing within the artistic community.
During the inter-war years, Budd balanced exhibition painting with applied artistic work. In the 1930s he produced poster designs for London Transport, bringing his eye for composition and colour to public visual culture. His paintings from this period often depict cultivated countryside, gardens, and agricultural scenes, combining calm observation with a gentle narrative presence.
Budd married fellow artist Helen Margaret MacKenzie in 1915. From 1929 to 1949 he taught at St Martin’s School of Art, passing on his skills and experience to a new generation of artists. By the time of the 1939 Register, he was living and working in Kensington as a teacher of art, continuing to paint alongside his educational work.
Herbert Ashwin Budd died on 3 June 1950 at Avenue Studios, Chelsea. The following year, Hanley Art Gallery honoured him with a memorial exhibition, recognising both his artistic achievement and his local significance. Today, his work is held in a number of public collections, including the Imperial War Museum, the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, the City of London Corporation, and the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Signing his work “H. A. Budd”, Herbert Ashwin Budd left behind a body of painting that reflects a lifelong engagement with landscape, design, and teaching. His art continues to offer a thoughtful, quietly enduring vision of the English environment and the artistic traditions of his time.
Some of Herbert's Artwork
Figures in a Garden
Title: Figures in a Formal Garden
Date: 1902
Measures: h69 x w81cm.
Work type: Watercolour.
Location: Unknown.
Acquisition: Unknown.
Est Value: £1,000 (2018)
View on the Churnet
Title: View on the Churnet
Date: 1903
Measures: h44 x w60 cm.
Work type: Oil on canvas.
Location: The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.
Acquisition: Unknown.
Est Value: £
War Workers
Title: War Workers Abbeville
Date: 1918
Measures: h68 x w98 cm.
Work type: Oil on canvas.
Location: Unknown.
Acquisition: Unknown.
Est Value: £
The Bird Shop
Title: The Bird Shop
Date: 1920
Measures: h61.5 x w74.5 cm.
Work type: Oil on canvas.
Location: Gallery Oldham.
Acquisition: Purchased from Mr H. A. Budd, 1922.
Est Value: £
In Billets
Title: In Billets, Winter: Rations up
Date: 1921
Measures: h101.9 x w127 cm.
Work type: Oil on canvas.
Location: Imperial War Museum London.
Acquisition: Purchased 1930
Est Value: £
Interior
Title: Interior
Date: ?
Measures: h22.5 x w28 cm.
Work type: Oil on panel.
Location: The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.
Acquisition: Purchased from Mrs H. A. Budd, 1951.
Est Value: £
The Chess Board
Title: The Chess Board
Date: 1921
Measures: h101.5 x w127 cm.
Work type: Oil on canvas.
Location: The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.
Acquisition: Purchased from Mrs H. A. Budd, 1951.
Est Value: £
Landscape
Title: Landscape with high clouds
Date: 1927
Measures: h28.5x w35.5 cm.
Work type: Oil on panel.
Location: San Diego, CA
Acquisition: Unknown.
Est Value: £600 (2011)
The Artists Model
Title: The Artists Model
Depicts Helen Mackenzie (wife), with Budd, the artist, reflected in the mirror behind her.
Date: 1926
Measures: h92.7 x w72.4 cm.
Work type: Oil on canvas.
Location: Unknown
Acquisition: Unknown.
Est Value: £1,200 (2014)
Piccadilly Flower Seller
Title: Piccadilly Flower Sellers
Date: 1928
Measures: h92 x w87 cm.
Work type: Oil on canvas.
Location: Southwark Art Collection London.
Acquisition: Unknown.
Est Value: £
Travel Underground
Title: Travel Underground between 10 and 4
Date: 1930
Measures: h111.8 x w86.5 cm.
Work type: Oil on canvas.
Location: Unknown.
Acquisition: 1930.
Est Value: £21,000 (2017)
Travel To The Theatre
Title: Travel To The Theatre
Date: 1930
Measures: h111.8 x w86.5 cm.
Work type: Oil on canvas.
Location: Unknown.
Acquisition: 1930.
Est Value: £21,000 (2017)
Lavender in Bloom
Title: Lavender in Bloom
Date: 1948
Measures: h61 x w61 cm.
Work type: Oil on canvas.
Location: Bradford Museums and Galleries.
Acquisition: Bradford Council 1936.
Est Value: £
High Summer
Title: High Summer
Date: Unknown
Measures: Unknown.
Work type: Unknown.
Location: Private Collection.
Acquisition: Unknown.
Est Value: Unknown
Headmaster
Title: Francis Richard Dale, Headmaster of the City of London School
Date: 1949
Measures: h105 x w80 cm.
Work type: Oil on canvas.
Location: Guildhall Art Gallery
Acquisition: presented by the John Carpenter Club, 1949.
Est Value: £
In The Country
Title: In The Country
Date: Unknown
Measures: h112 x w87 cm.
Work type: Oil on board.
Location: Unknown.
Acquisition: 2020.
Est Value: £950 (2020)
End of the Story
Title: End of the Story
Date:1941
Measures: h71.7 x w92 cm.
Work type: Oil on canvas.
Location: Unknown.
Acquisition: Unknown.
Est Value: £700 (2007)
Village Scene
Title: Village Scene with Figures
Date: Unknown
Measures: h45 x w61 cm.
Work type: Oil on board.
Location: Unknown.
Acquisition: Unknown, 2026.
Est Value: £350 (2026)