Nicos Hadjikiriakos Ghika Greek, 1906-1994

Private Collection, Athens

Paris, Cahiers d'Art, Ghika, March 1958
New York, Alexander Iolas Gallery, May 1958

Having completed his artistic training as a student under Parthenis (see lots 1,2, 4 and 23) in Athens and Galanis in Paris, Ghika settled for a few years in the French capital, where he became a regular contributor to the annual Salon des Surindependants. In 1934 he moved back to Greece, and in 1937 embarked on the renovation of his ancestral home on the island of Hydra. It was in Hydra that he reformulated his art and combined the analytical cubism of his Paris period with a new perception of nature and light, whilst capturing the essence of the island's architecture. It was thus that he started to paint the first works which decidedly expressed what many perceive as the quintessence of his artistic style, principles and aesthetic convictions.