About this artwork
Little is known about this painting. It is thought to be unfinished, as it was left rolled up in Nicholson’s Swiss studio after he returned to live in England. However the work reveals something of the artist’s working processes. The ambiguous mass of pencil lines in the large shape to the left of the painting would likely have been developed into one of Nicholson’s characteristic still lifes with overlapping outlines. The two vertical shapes at the bottom of the painting may be table legs. Similar works of the late 1950s show still lifes arranged on tables - a Cubist-influenced composition to which the artist often returned.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Ben Nicholson (1894 - 1982) English
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title:1957 (still life)
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date created:1957
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materials:Oil and pencil on canvas
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measurements:119.50 x 88.50 cm; Framed: 122.50 x 92.50 x 3.50 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Presented by Felicitas Vogler 2006
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accession number:GMA 4791
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gallery:
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subject:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
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...