Ben Nicholson, O.M.

A.L. Cochran
Private Collection
Sale, Christie's, London, 25 June 1990, lot 62, whence purchased by the present owner 

New York, Blum Helman Gallery, Ben Nicholson, 1990; 
Tokyo, Odakyu Museum, 1992-93;
New York, Andre Emmerich;
London, Helly Nahmad Gallery, Ben Nicholson, September 2001, no.17. 

Herbert Read, Ben Nicholson, work since 1947, vol.2, Lund Humphries, London, 1956, no.34, illustrated;
Norbert Lynton, Ben Nicholson, Phaidon, London, 1993, p.240, pl.226;
Christopher Neve, Ben Nicholson, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, 1993, no.10, p.32, illustrated p.33;
Ben Nicholson, Helly Nahmad Gallery, Stuttgart, 2001, illustrated.

The panel is in good overall condition. It appears uneven in places but this is consistent with the artist's practise. There are scattered areas of very slight craquelure in the paint surface across the panel. Otherwise the surface is in good overall condition. Examination under ultra-violet light reveals a few lines of fluorescence in the upper left quadrant, and a further spot to the nail head in the upper right quadrant. This appears to be very old retouching where the board has cracked slightly and the nail head has caused a little spot of paint loss. Otherwise the surface is in good overall condition. Held behind glass in a white painted wooden box frame. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 5381 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

1949 marked a crucial new phase in Nicholson's work, one which by the end of the 1950s would secure him a position as the leading British abstract painter on the international stage. Between 1946 and 1960, he was exhibited in forty British Council exhibitions around the world, and by 1956 his works had been acquired by twenty museum collections abroad, ten of which were in the crucial American market. International prizes came his way, as did sales. Only Henry Moore could rival the profile that Nicholson built during the 1950s.

Whilst his pre-war work had built a level of international recognition, mostly in Europe, the post-war situation was one where the British Council were working intensively to raise the profile of British art abroad, and as an established abstract artist Nicholson was a clear choice for selection. Under the leadership of Lilian Somerville, the British Council Fine Arts Advisory Committee at that time numbered amongst its influential members Herbert Read, Roland Penrose, Philip Hendy, John Rothenstein and Philip James. Nicholson's long-standing association with Herbert Read was to be of particular value, and as Read's position as one of the most influential writers on twentieth century art grew more and more, his capacity to raise awareness of those artists he felt worthy of note increased too. As Nicholson acknowledged in a letter to Patrick Heron,

What the contemporary art movement in England wld have done without him (& what Barbara Henry & I would have done in the 30s without his active support) I don't know – the whole landscape wld have been changed too slowly' (sic) (letter dated 30^th December 1968).

However, the support of Read et al would have been of little value had Nicholson not been producing work of the highest quality, and the hiatus of the war years had seen him produce works that were pursuing a variety of paths. Having moved down to St Ives in 1939 after the outbreak of war, living conditions for Nicholson, Hepworth and their triplets were often cramped, artist's materials were in severe shortage and their connections with the international art world were limited. In the 1930s Nicholson had built up an important network of connections within the European avant-garde, particularly in Paris, and the isolation of the war years saw a move in his work away from the pure abstraction he had been pursuing towards a more landscape-influenced style. However, after the end of the war, he began to become more abstract once more, this time working within an abstracted still-life idiom.