Ben Nicholson

(20 Strings)

Artist's Resale Right

Auction Closed

June 7, 03:45 PM GMT

Estimate

5,000 - 7,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Property from the Collection of Angela Verren Taunt

Ben Nicholson

1894 - 1982

(20 strings)

signed Nicholson, titled, dated april 20, 78 and inscribed (on the reverse of the sheet); also signed Nicholson, titled, dated april 20 78 (on the reverse of the backboard); further signed Nicholson, dated 1979 and inscribed lent to angela + to become her property / when I pop off (on the stretcher bar)

felt tip pen, watercolour and ink wash on paper, attached to an Artist's backboard

unframed (sheet): 14.5 by 13.5cm.; 5¾ by 5¼in.

unframed (board): 22.5 by 24cm.; 8½ by 9½in.

framed: 23 by 25cm.; 9 by 10in.

Executed on 20 April 1978.

We are grateful to Rachel Smith for her kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.

A catalogue raisonné of Ben Nicholson’s paintings and reliefs is currently being prepared, and the authors encourage owners to be in touch. Please write to Rachel Smith, c/o Sotheby’s Modern & Postwar British Art, Sotheby’s, 34-35 New Bond Street, London, W1A 2AA or email info@bncr.org.uk.

Gifted from the Artist to Angela Verren Taunt

Ben Nicholson met Angela Verren Taunt at a Christmas party in Cambridge on 29 December 1971. Angela was a talented painter herself and had been a great admirer of Nicholson’s work. Ben invited Angela to visit his studio soon after they met, and it was clear there was an immediate connection. She shortly became his studio assistant, and the close friendship which developed between the two was of fundamental importance to the last ten years of Nicholson’s life. They also worked as collaborators on occasion. The support and creative exchange Ben received from Angela was an energizing element, which along with a return to the UK, helped him recapture a creative energy and zest for life and encouraged his artistic output during this final decade.