Sir William Nicholson

Acquired directly from the Artist by Winston and Clementine Churchill, and thence by descent to their daughter Mary

London, National Gallery, Exhibition of Paintings by Sir William Nicholson and Jack B. Yeats, 1st January - 15th March 1942, cat. no.74.

Lillian Browse, William Nicholson, Rupert Hart-Davis, London, 1956, cat. no.448, p.104;
Patricia Reed, William Nicholson, Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, Modern Art Press/Yale University Press, London, 2011, cat. no.737, illustrated p.565.

The work is on its original canvasboard. There appears to be some frame abrasion to the extreme edges of the composition and some minor scratches to the paint surface, consistent with the artist's working method. On extremely close examination very minor craquelure is visible in the light pigments in the lower left corner of the composition. On extremely close inspection there is a small area of paint loss in the lower left quadrant. There is some light surface dirt and traces of studio detritus across the artwork. Subject to the above the painting is in over all good condition. Ultraviolet light reveals no obvious signs of florescence or retouching The work is presented in fluted and glided wooded frame. Please contact the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
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Having sent Christmas greetings to the Churchills (see lot 12), Nicholson departed for Spain where he spent Christmas 1934 in Malaga. His host, Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell, had a house in the hills outside the town and Nicholson was delighted with the drama of the landscape: deep gullies, soaring hillsides and rocky promontories. He returned to England late January and the Churchills are thought to have acquired the present work from him soon after.

The view depicted is thought to be looking south-east, towards the sea, with the Camino Nuevo in the foreground and the centre of Malaga out of the picture to the right. The hill at the centre of the present picture’s composition was first the site of a lighthouse and then a castle. Neither of these buildings remains but they are commemorated by the name, Castillo de Gibralfaro (Castle of the Lighthouse). The walls of the later Moorish Alcazar, which was built to the west, can be seen silhouetted on the right of the painting (see Reed, 2011, op.cit., cat. no.737, illustrated p.565).