Ben Nicholson1983
by Jeremy Lewison
Romantic, classical, baroque, naive, primitive, abstract, surrealist, mechanistic, modernist, English and international are adjectives which have, at various times, been applied to the art of Ben Nicholson. The variety of expression he achieved throughout a long career stemmed from a lively and daring mind, which gave rise to an art of intense human interest as well as great sensitivity and precision.
In the 1930s Nicholson was a pivotal figure in the Parisian and London avant-garde, and in the 1950s he was hailed by international critics and curators as one the leading artists of his generation. Friend of Braque, Helion, Gabo, Arp, Calder, Giacometti and Mondrian, Nicholson was the primary force behind the emergence of geometric abstraction in England and its alliance with contemporary...