Ben Nicholson O.M. (British 1894-1982) §
small red diamond, circa 1974
£15,000
Auction: 29 April 2022 from 10:00 BST
Description
signed, titled and inscribed 'lent to Jake / until pop off / then it becomes / his property / Nicholson/ (small Red diamond)' (to reverse), mixed media on irregularly-shaped paper laid on artist's prepared board
Dimensions
sheet 24.2cm x 15cm (9.5in x 5.8in) maximum dimensions; board 34.4cm x 24cm (13.5in x 9.5in)
Provenance
Provenance:
Acquired from the artist by Jake Nicholson and thence by descent to the present owner.
Footnote
Exhibited:
Chichester, Pallant House Gallery, Ben Nicholson: From the Studio, 2021, no cat. nos. (illustrated upside down p. 94, fig. 101)
This work was included in the recent exhibition Ben Nicholson: From the Studio at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, which examined the inspiration the artist found in still-life objects throughout his career. It is one of a series in which Nicholson enjoyed the form and implied personality of a spanner from a set that he purchased from a plumber in 1973, that were ‘patinated with age and use, strong and weighty shapes full of character’ (Norbert Lynton, Ben Nicholson, Phaidon Press Ltd, London, 1993, p. 208). However, it is named after the colour highpoint of its composition.
We are grateful to Dr Lee Beard for his assistance in cataloguing this work.