A painter of figures in landscapes and oils and tempera, a theatrical designer and an illustrator. His early work was influence by Sutherland and also by the example of Samuel Palmer. Gradually during the 1940s John Craxton's work became more formally structured, reflecting his interest in Picasso, Miro and Cubism. Seeing abstraction as too limited for his needs, he abandoned classical perspective and aimed at a clear statement using line in order to make volume expressive. In Greece the example of Byzantine mosaics and the work of Ghika reinforced his use of line, a restricted range of clear colour, patterning and clarity of detail, e.g. 'Landscape, Hydra' (Arts Council Collection). Recent work has continued this decorative, cubist style, capturing in clear colours the flicker of sunlight on figures and landscape.
In 1946 he made his first visit to Greece where he was deeply affected by the light, the people and the landscape. Thereafter, Craxton divided his time between London, Greece and travelling extensively. In 1960 he rented a house on Crete and that became a permanent base apart from a voluntary exile between 1970 and 1976.
His work is in many public collections including the Tate.