Sir William Nicholson 1872-1949

Though dated 1903, the subject matter, handling and palate of Red Roses clearly places it towards the end of Nicholson's painting career. The description in Browse of Red Roses in Glass Jug undoubtedly refers to the present work but the dating remains incongruous. No clear explanation exists for the signature and date given by the artist. However Patricia Reed has suggested that it may simply be an example of the artist's sense of humour - the same sense of humour that once led him to stick a real piece of kipper to the back of a picture of kippers that he was sending to exhibition.

The dating to 1903 may alternatively be interpreted as something of a nostalgic, reflective gesture. By the early 40s, despite refusing to allow his name to be put up for election to the Royal Academy, Nicholson had been bestowed with a number of honours, including a knighthood in 1936 and in 1942 a retrospective exhibition at the National Gallery. Amongst the 11,000 visitors to the exhibition, there would have been a good deal of discussion over the relative merits of the fifty years worth of output. Nicholson in turn would have delighted in creating confusion in the midst of this debate.

The latter years had not however shown any evidence of deterioration in Nicholson's work. Indeed, Lillian Browse's choice of Begonias (1939-40) as the cover image of her 1956 volume would suggest the exact opposite. With Red Roses Nicholson displays to full effect the painterly and compositional ingenuity that he had perfected over the years. The flower still life was his best-loved theme and one with which he was entirely at ease. Here, the hard, cool surface of the green glass jug is rendered with absolute credibility, while the off-centre placement of the artist's props allows the eye to explore the subtle undulations of a backdrop caught just slightly by the corner of the table.

A further dating complication arises with the Leicester Galleries label on the verso of this work. Though dated April 1942, no catalogue for such an exhibition has been found, and it seems an unlikely coincidence that the work was exhibited again the following year under the same catalogue number if it had already been sold. It is therefore assumed that the 1942 date on the label is an unaccountable error. 

Red Roses will be included in Patricia Reed's forthcoming book William Nicholson: Catalogue of the Oil Paintings, no.865 where it will be dated 1943. We are very grateful to Patricia Reed for her assistance in cataloguing this and the following lot.