John Langton obituary

Other lives: Artist whose works spanned abstract, figurative and portrayals of the natural world, and who had significant success in Germany

John Langton, who has died aged 92, was at home in the English art world. He made art, talked about art, and wrote about art for magazines and newspapers, including the Guardian. He received public commissions from the Universities of Durham, Sussex and York. Yet his chief success stemmed from his fascination with Germany – its history, people and culture.

From 1971 he took part in 17 shows in West Germany, 12 of which were solo exhibitions. Unexpected in this robust career was the tenderness and handling of light in his flower paintings, produced in 2009, after a period of illness. They formed a sell-out show at Spelman’s, the famous bookshop in York.

John was born and lived for most of his life in York. His father, Albert Langton, was a railway engineer and city councillor, his mother, Annie (nee Cuthbert), a housewife. He was educated at Nunthorpe grammar school and by his father, who encouraged his son’s interest in reading and politics.

Aged 16, he entered York School of Art, and when its headteacher Dudley Holland left to become director of Guildford School of Art, John followed him. There he met David Lloyd Jones, who became an outstanding ceramicist and collaborated with John on commissions, including some for the newly established University of York in 1963. In time they formed half of the group of artists known as “the York Four”, the other two being Russell Platt and Reg Williams.

When John undertook national service with the Green Howards, part of his time was spent in Germany. Meanwhile, his father, as chair of the York education committee, had recognised that York’s Art Gallery needed a full-time curator, and boldly gave the job to Hans Hess, a German Jewish refugee and a Marxist who was familiar with modernist European art. Hess became John’s chief mentor and introduced him to a cultural milieu of internationally renowned artists, intellectuals and musicians.

After John left the army, he returned to York, undertook teacher training at St John’s College of Ripon and York and met Patricia Lee. They married in 1960, and eventually settled in a house in Fulford with an old coachhouse in the garden that was transformed into a large studio.

Hess encouraged John’s European outlook. His interest in Germany now brought him introductions to dealers and collectors in whose country, at this time, the acquisition of contemporary art could be offset against tax. The demand for John’s work enabled him to give up teaching.

He began painting abstracts in the early 1960s but took note also of pop art. Figurative images and narrative interest took over, but in the 80s he caught the various moods evoked by parks, gardens and topiary, deftly playing on the mysterious correspondences between nature and the imagination.

York University gifted John an honorary doctorate in 1995, and is planning a major exhibition of his work for 2026 with the intention of representing him not only as a member of the York scene over several decades, but also as a recognised European figure.

John is survived by Pat, their daughter, Jessica, and son, James, and three grandchildren, Sophie, Olivia and Liam.