John Banting (1902–1972) was a painter, collagist and designer associated with the British Surrealist movement. Born in Chelsea, he studied at the Royal College of Art and under Bernard Meninsky at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. In the 1920s he moved in avant-garde circles in Paris, forming friendships with artists and writers including Man Ray, Max Ernst and Gertrude Stein. These connections helped shape his early experiments with abstraction and surreal imagery.

Banting’s work combined precise draughtsmanship with wit and psychological tension. His paintings and collages often feature fragmented figures, symbolic objects and dreamlike compositions that blur the boundary between the real and the imagined. In addition to painting, he designed stage sets, book jackets and posters, and contributed illustrations to publications linked to the Surrealist group.

He exhibited in the landmark 1936 International Surrealist Exhibition in London alongside Dalí, Miró and Ernst, and held solo shows at the Zwemmer Gallery and later at the Hanover Gallery. Though his output was uneven and sporadic, his best work demonstrates a singular, disciplined imagination within British modernism. Banting’s paintings and collages are held in several public collections, including Tate, the V&A and the British Council.