Nugent Herrmann Welch was born at Akaroa while his father, the painter J. S. Welch, was painting there. He began painting in 1908, studied for a short time at Canterbury College School of Art then at Wellington Technical College, where Margaret Tripe and Maud Sherwood were among his instructors. He served as an official war artist with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force during the First World War.
He later became known as a leading Wellington plein air artist and was a member of the Silverstream School, led by James McLauchlan Nairn. He was a member of the Wellington Art Club and a life member of the Academy of Fine Arts. His favourite painting place was a specially furnished cave at Cape Terawhiti, where his ashes were scattered. He specialised in landscapes that conveyed those qualities of light and air that the French Impressionists brought to the attention of painters.
A more extensive biography is available on Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
