Ben Nicholson (British 1894-1982) for Edinburgh Weavers §
Vertical, designed 1937
£2,750
Auction: 14 November 2019 from 13:00 GMT
Description
Jacquard woven rayon and cotton textile
Dimensions
385cm x 123cm (151.5in x 48.5in)
Footnote
Literature:
See Lesley Jackson, Alastair Morton and Edinburgh Weavers, V&A Publishing, London, 2012, p. 80, pl.114 for an example of this textile.
Designed in 1937, Vertical was one of a small number of Constructivist textiles designed by Ben Nicholson during the 1930s. Consisting solely of geometric motifs, and closely related to Nicholson's important low white relief sculptures, it is woven in such a way to give the impression of low sculptural relief effects. A version of Vertical was ordered for The Savoy Hotel in 1938. Nicholson refused to allow the design to be altered to match the exisiting decor of the hotel, stating 'if anything were altered, it should be the hotel'.
'Of all the fabrics in the Constructivist collection, it was Vertical that attracted the most attention and the largest orders, in spite of its high price tag of 20s per yard. Had it not been for the war, the fabric would have remained in production' (Jackson, p.81).