Product Description

Ben Nicholson (1894-1982) is recognised as one of the great masters of 20th-century art. A pioneer of abstract art in Britain, he first came to international prominence with his famous "white reliefs", and he continued to produce remarkable abstract reliefs and paintings throughout his career. At the same time, this complex and independent-minded artist always refused to be pinned down by labels, and he maintained a lifelong attachment to the visible world. Many of his finest works are paintings, drawings and prints of landscape and still-life forms. This study of Nicholson's life and work was first published in 1994, the centenary of his birth. It is reissued here in a shorter paperback format, without the supplementary illustrations, but otherwise retaining the substance and essential character of the original publication.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1183007 in Books
• Published on: 1998-05-21
• Format: Abridged
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 252 pages

From Booklist
In spite of being one of Britain's leading twentieth-century artists, Ben Nicholson (1894-1982) and his work have not been accorded the sort of comprehensive scrutiny they deserve, until now. And this grand, color-rich (250 colorplates) retrospective was well worth the wait. Art historian Lynton, an acquaintance and devoted admirer of Nicholson, is indefatigable, tracing the roundabout evolution of Nicholson's style and inspirations decade by decade, painting by painting. The son of artists, art was in Nicholson's blood, and he followed its call over the static of his rivalry with his father. The company of women was essential to Nicholson; the first two of his three wives were artists, and every aspect of his daily existence related to his work. Innately talented and consumed by the sensuality of painting, Nicholson was a great experimenter, prolific, poetic, and dynamic right up to the end of his art-filled life. Lynton's commentary keeps pace with each phase of Nicholson's creativity as he played with the elements of landscape and still lifes, explored the eloquence of limitations in his famous white reliefs, and reveled in the glory of color and surface texture and transparency. In closing Lynton writes, Nicholson's art is "about being alive and conscious of living, of breathing, moving, sensing." It is also about beauty. Donna Seaman

Customer Reviews

Ben Nicholson Rediscovered
It is no small pleasure to view once again the cool, elegant work of Ben Nicholson. Unlike many of our neon palettes of today, Nicholson's tones were often subtle and delicate, especially in his reliefs. He seldom discussed the subject matter of his works, since it was the process that fascinated him. Lynton describes him as "a child-man, whose best joys and fullest sense of being alive came from his delight in the perfect flight of a ball or a bird."

Nicholson was self-effacing, witty and urbane. His world was one of joy in light and line. Lynton's book beautifully brings us into that world.