Ben Nicholson, O.M.

Gifted by Ben Nicholson to Angela Verren Taunt

London, Tate Gallery, Ben Nicholson Drawings, November - December 1974, no. 3, illustrated in the exh. cat.

London, Waddington Galleries, Ben Nicholson: Recent Paintings on Paper, 4 - 28 October 1978, no. 2, illustrated in the exh. cat.

Cambridge, Kettle's Yard, Chasing Out Something Alive: Drawings and Painted Reliefs 1950 - 1975, 27 July - 22 September 2002, no. 52, illustrated in the catalogue p. 44, with tour to Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester; and Southampton City Art Gallery, Southampton

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.