Ben Nicholson

1940 (painted relief - plover's egg blue)

About this artwork

Ben Nicholson and his family moved from London to St Ives in 1939, taking refuge from the threat of wartime bombing. This relocation to the Cornish countryside renewed his interest in landscape painting. For several years Nicholson’s reliefs had been predominantly white, but he now began to reintroduce colour. His reliefs show the influence of the colours, shapes, textures and light of Cornwall with their hints of grey, warm red and silvery blue. In this work, Nicholson has also carved into the surface of the board to create several different planes. The treatment of space by its division into planes was central to the artist’s work.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
    Ben Nicholson (1894 - 1982) English
  • title:
    1940 (painted relief - plover's egg blue)
  • date created:
    1940
  • materials:
    Oil on carved board
  • measurements:
    Interior board: 30.50 x 32.00 cm; Board: 47.50 x 48.00 cm; Framed: 49.40 x 49.70 x 5.00 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Presented by Miss Helen Sutherland 1965
  • accession number:
    GMA 931
  • gallery:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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Ben Nicholson

Ben Nicholson