British artist David Haughton, 1924 - 1991, was known primarily for his meticulously observed and rendered drawings, paintings and etchings of the former mining town of St Just-in-Penwith in Cornwall, and for his legacy as an inspirational teacher. Haughton was also highly regarded for brightly coloured semi-abstract paintings based on grid structures and calligraphic forms made in the 1960s and 70s.

David Haughton: Art, Life and the Cornish Landscape explores the artistic and creative gravitational pull the West Penwith of Cornwall held for Haughton, and how his devotion to this tiny pocket of land, bordering on obsession, shaped his career as an artist.

Haughton was a key figure in the emergence of St Ives as an international centre for modern art in the late 1940s. David Haughton: Art, Life and the Cornish Landscape re-examines Haughton’s contribution to post-war British art and offers theories of why, despite critical success during his lifetime and representation in public collections including the Arts Council and V&A Museum, his name is less well known today. The biography contextualises his career in relation to his friends and contemporaries including Prunella Clough, Barbara Hepworth, Rose Hilton, Ben Nicholson and Bryan Wynter (to name but a few), all recognised as leading artists of their generation.