The artist C.R.W. Nevinson (1889-1946) - remembered chiefly for his harrowing portrayals of the First World War - and his revered journalist father, Henry Nevinson (1856-1941) have been commemorated with an English Heritage blue plaque, the charity announced today (21 June). The joint plaque was unveiled at 4 Downside Crescent in Hampstead, where the Nevinson family lived between 1903 and 1941, until bombing raids made the home uninhabitable.

Best known as C.R.W. Nevinson, Richard Nevinson was one of the most famous artists of the First World War, using a variety of styles, including Futurism and Cubism, to capture the brutality of a war he witnessed first-hand. Enlisting at the outbreak of fighting in August 1914 in the Friends' Ambulance Unit, Richard cared for wounded soldiers - mostly French and German - until he was sent home in 1915 suffering with rheumatic pain. It was these experiences and his short spell in the Royal Army Medical Corps which informed his work of the time. Garnering praise particularly for Returning to the Trenches, a portrayal of marching soldiers grimly joined in step and purpose, and La Mitrailleuse, described as "the most concentrated and authoritative utterance on war", he was appointed an official war artist in 1917, but also attracted controversy with Paths of Glory, a shockingly realistic depiction of two slaughtered British soldiers. The artist's output during the First World War is widely credited as being his most significant work, and his legacy has been firmly cemented within the generation of writers and artists who channelled the war to powerful effect.

His father, Henry Nevinson, was a man who cherished and cultivated the role and reputation of a campaigning rebel and champion of liberty. With a long track record in war reportage, including the Boer War, by the time Henry was out in Gallipoli during the First World War he was widely recognised as a key figure within the field of war journalism, with a reputation as 'the king of war correspondents'. His polemical writings against cruelty and injustice showcase matters he considered of great importance, including the campaign for women's suffrage. An active supporter of the enfranchisement of women, in 1907 he was among the founders of the Men's League for Women's Suffrage and also resigned from The Daily News when the editor refused to condemn the force-feeding of suffragette prisoners on hunger strike. A founder member of the more militant Men's Political Union for Women's Enfranchisement (1909) and the United Suffragists (1913), Henry championed universal suffrage.

Philip Mould, Blue Plaques Panel Member, said: "Both father and son's unique contributions to history were smelted by war. C.R.W. Nevinson was responsible for some of the most startling art inspired by the First World War, influenced by his own experiences and belief that men had become 'cogs' in a warfare dominated by machines. His father Henry was an exceptional war correspondent who all his life strove to uncover injustice and champion liberty. We are delighted to be able to recognise the remarkable achievements of both father and son with this joint blue plaque on the building they called home."

The English Heritage Blue Plaque to C.R.W. Nevinson and Henry Nevinson is at 4 Downside Crescent, Hampstead, where the Nevinson family lived from 1903-41. It was here that Henry wrote 27 of his 34 books and Richard made his reputation as a war artist.

Other prominent artists recognised under the London Blue Plaques Scheme include Paul Nash (King's Cross), Mark Gertler (Spitalfields), Percy Wyndham Lewis (Kensington), David Bomberg, Kate Greenaway (Hampstead), and Marion Dorn and Edward McKnight Kauffer (joint plaque; Chelsea), while comparable writers and journalists commemorated include Henry Noel Brailsford, the photojournalist Lee Miller (Hampstead) and George Orwell (Kentish Town).