About this artwork
This drawing shows the harbour at Boscastle in Cornwall. The artist visited the town with his new wife, Felicitas Vogler, in the winter of 1957 during a tour of Cornwall. However, the Cornish landscape had been a great influence on Nicholson since he moved there from London in 1939. Nicholson’s drawings are characterised by a simple but powerful use of line. From the late 1940s he adopted the practice of preparing a number of sheets of paper with a colour wash before selecting the most appropriate piece for each drawing. This work was made on top of an oil wash, which acted as a stimulus for the drawing.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Ben Nicholson (1894 - 1982) English
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title:1957 (Boscastle)
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date created:1957
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materials:Oil wash and pencil on paper
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measurements:27.50 x 42.70 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Presented by Felicitas Vogler 2005
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accession number:GMA 4773
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gallery:
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subject:
Ben Nicholson
Ben Nicholson
Ben Nicholson was the eldest son of the painters William Nicholson and Mabel Pryde. He did not devote himself seriously to art until 1920, the same year he married the artist Winifred Roberts. His early works were simple and traditional still lifes. In 1921 he saw an exhibition of cubist paintings...