London-born Nevinson studied at St John's Wood School of Art and the Slade (1908-12) and at Julian's in Paris (1912-13). In 1913 he became a Founder member of the London Group. Richard Cork comments in a recent review that 'when the war broke out, he had been a faithful follower of Marinetti's Futurism...' but after travelling to Dunkirk with his Red Cross unit, the utter brutality of war swamped the illusions of Futurist ideas, and left him with a determination to interpret grim reality and the never-ending nightmare. When his images of war went on exhibition in 1816, there were many critics, but he continued to hammer at his war themes, taking what he needed for his work from those Cubists, Futurists and Vorticists who were also treating of the events.

A Star Shell, exhibited by Nevinson in 1916, was purchased in 1962 by the CHANTRY Bequest and is in the Tate National Gallery. In St Ives, post-war he studied with Alfred HARTLEY in St Ives and the Nevinsons were introduced to the Arts Club by Nora HARTLEY in 1920. The artist was mentioned on the BBC (2005) as being the first painter to go up in an airplane in order to paint the landscape from the sky. More recently, of course, this was also a routine adopted by both George Peter LANYON and Roy RAY.

After the war he continued to travel extensively, and Buckman comments that he found a suitable subject for his talents in painting the cityscape of New York City. Nevinson was the author of Paint and Prejudice (1937). In 1938 he was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur. He was elected an Associate of the RA in 1939.