£13,750
MODERN MADE: Modern & Post-War Art, Design & Studio Ceramics | 618
Auction: 23 October 2020 at 10:00 BST
signed, titled and inscribed (on stretcher bar), oil on canvas
Provenance:
The Estate of the Artist, and thence by descent.
Exhibited:
Edinburgh, The National Gallery of Scotland, The Dean Gallery, Winifred Nicholson in Scotland, 10th July - 7th September 2003, p.39, illustrated, with tour to Duff House, Banff, and Au Tuireann, Skye.
Literature:
Alice Strang, Winifred Nicholson in Scotland, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2003, p.39 (ill.col)
During the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, Nicholson spent a great deal of time in the Scottish Highlands. She frequently visited the area with the poet Kathleen Raine, a close friend, staying at a retreat at Sandaig in Ross-shire on the west coast of the mainland. Inspired by the effects of light and colour created by the ever-changing weather conditions, Nicholson felt a special, profound connection to the landscape, appreciating the quiet and outstanding natural beauty and was eager to learn its folklore, customs, and people.
This is particularly evident in her painting ‘The Piper who Played the Retreat at Tobruk (Shepherd, Sandaig), from circa 1952. This piece exudes Nicholson’s characteristic impressionistic brushstroke in its landscape, using warm and cool colours to harmoniously balance the composition. The figure in the foreground is a local shepherd who she befriended during her time on the island. The work produced in Scotland are deeply emotive, and allowed Nicholson to express not only her fascination for light and colour, but also her love for the country.