Winifred Nicholson
Encyclopedia
Winifred Nicholson was an English
painter, a colourist
who developed a personalized impressionistic
style that concentrated on domestic subjects and landscapes. In her work, the two motifs are often combined in a view out of a window, featuring flowers in a vase or a jug.
Nicholson was born in Oxford
as Rosa Winifred Roberts. Her parents were Charles Henry Roberts
, a Liberal Party
politician, ex-academic and (through his wife) landowner, and Lady Cecilia, daughter of George Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle
. Her interest in painting started early in life. George Howard was an accomplished painter as well as a friend and patron of many distinguished astists, including the Pre-Raphaelites and members of the Etruscan school. Nicholson began painting with Howard around age 11. She attended the Byam Shaw Art School
. An artist friend from Byam Shaw was Edith Jenkinson (Eejay Hooper), much of whose work was destroyed in bombing during World War II
. The poet and literary critic Kathleen Raine
was another friend later in her career.
Nicholson married the artist Ben Nicholson
in 1920. There were three children of the marriage; Kate Nicholson
also became an artist. In the 1920s Winifred became a Christian Scientist, an allegiance that lasted for the rest of her life. Although it is sometimes said incorrectly that with Ben, Winifred formed part of the artist colony at St Ives, Cornwall
, she was never permanently living there. Although she painted less in the abstract style than in the representational, she did experiment with her own form of abstraction in the 1930s. Influences between her and Ben were mutual, Ben often admitting he learnt much about colour from his first wife. After they separated, she lived half of each year during the 1930s in Paris.
After her divorce from Ben Nicholson in 1938, she spent most of the rest of her long life in Cumberland
, at Boothby where her father lived, and at Bankshead
, both near Lanercost
. She painted prolifically throughout her life, largely at home but also on trips to Greece and Scotland, among other places. Many of her works are still in private collections, but a number are in the Kettle's Yard
art gallery, Cambridge, and several key works belong to Tate. One painting is believed to have hung at 10 Downing Street
. She had a lifelong fascination for rainbow and spectrum colours and in the 1970s she made particularly strong, innovative use of such colours in many of her paintings. She left some written accounts of her thoughts on colour. She died in Cumbria
on 5 March 1981.
Nicholson supported the Taiwanese artist Li Yuan-chia
, who had previously worked in Milan and London. He ran the "LYC Museum", close to Bankshead
. Significant exhibitions of her works have taken place at the Tate
Gallery (1987), at the Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle, and at the Dean Gallery
in Edinburgh
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
painter, a colourist
Colorist
In comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the 20th century this was done using brushes and dyes which were then used as guides to produce the printing plates...
who developed a personalized impressionistic
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
style that concentrated on domestic subjects and landscapes. In her work, the two motifs are often combined in a view out of a window, featuring flowers in a vase or a jug.
Nicholson was born in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
as Rosa Winifred Roberts. Her parents were Charles Henry Roberts
Charles Henry Roberts
Charles Henry Roberts , was a British Liberal politician.-Background:Roberts was the son of Reverend Albert James Roberts, Vicar of Tidebrook, Sussex.-Political career:...
, a Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician, ex-academic and (through his wife) landowner, and Lady Cecilia, daughter of George Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle
George Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle
George James Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle , known as George Howard until 1889, was an English aristocrat, politician and painter.-Background and education:...
. Her interest in painting started early in life. George Howard was an accomplished painter as well as a friend and patron of many distinguished astists, including the Pre-Raphaelites and members of the Etruscan school. Nicholson began painting with Howard around age 11. She attended the Byam Shaw Art School
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. The school has an outstanding international reputation, and is considered one of the world's leading art and design institutions...
. An artist friend from Byam Shaw was Edith Jenkinson (Eejay Hooper), much of whose work was destroyed in bombing during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The poet and literary critic Kathleen Raine
Kathleen Raine
Kathleen Jessie Raine was a British poet, critic, and scholar writing in particular on William Blake, W. B. Yeats and Thomas Taylor. Known for her interest in various forms of spirituality, most prominently Platonism and Neoplatonism, she was a founder member of the Temenos Academy.-Life:Raine was...
was another friend later in her career.
Nicholson married the artist Ben Nicholson
Ben Nicholson
Benjamin Lauder "Ben" Nicholson, OM was a British painter of abstract compositions , landscape and still-life.-Background and Training:...
in 1920. There were three children of the marriage; Kate Nicholson
Kate Nicholson
Kate Nicholson is the daughter of artist Ben Nicholson and his first wife, artist Winifred Nicholson.Born at Bankshead, Brampton in 1929, Kate Nicholson studied at the Bath College of Art from 1949 to 1954 where she was a pupil of Peter Lanyon, a St Ives artist and friend of her father and...
also became an artist. In the 1920s Winifred became a Christian Scientist, an allegiance that lasted for the rest of her life. Although it is sometimes said incorrectly that with Ben, Winifred formed part of the artist colony at St Ives, Cornwall
St Ives, Cornwall
St Ives is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial...
, she was never permanently living there. Although she painted less in the abstract style than in the representational, she did experiment with her own form of abstraction in the 1930s. Influences between her and Ben were mutual, Ben often admitting he learnt much about colour from his first wife. After they separated, she lived half of each year during the 1930s in Paris.
After her divorce from Ben Nicholson in 1938, she spent most of the rest of her long life in Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
, at Boothby where her father lived, and at Bankshead
Bankshead
Bankshead is a hamlet in Shropshire, England, near Bishop's Castle and the England-Wales border....
, both near Lanercost
Lanercost
Lanercost is a village in the northern part of Cumbria, England. The settlement is in the civil parish of Burtholme, in the City of Carlisle local government district. Lanercost is known for the presence of Lanercost Priory and its proximity to Hadrian's Wall.-History:Lanercost Priory was founded...
. She painted prolifically throughout her life, largely at home but also on trips to Greece and Scotland, among other places. Many of her works are still in private collections, but a number are in the Kettle's Yard
Kettle's Yard
Kettle's Yard is an art gallery and house in Cambridge, England.- History and overview :Kettle's Yard was originally the Cambridge home of Jim Ede and his wife Helen. Moving to Cambridge in 1956, they converted four small cottages into one idiosyncratic house and a place to display Ede's collection...
art gallery, Cambridge, and several key works belong to Tate. One painting is believed to have hung at 10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
. She had a lifelong fascination for rainbow and spectrum colours and in the 1970s she made particularly strong, innovative use of such colours in many of her paintings. She left some written accounts of her thoughts on colour. She died in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
on 5 March 1981.
Nicholson supported the Taiwanese artist Li Yuan-chia
Li Yuan-chia
Li Yuan-chia was a Chinese artist, poet and curator. He was educated in Taiwan from 1949.-Life:Li Yuan-chia is credited with establishing modern abstract art in Chinese circles...
, who had previously worked in Milan and London. He ran the "LYC Museum", close to Bankshead
Bankshead
Bankshead is a hamlet in Shropshire, England, near Bishop's Castle and the England-Wales border....
. Significant exhibitions of her works have taken place at the Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
Gallery (1987), at the Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle, and at the Dean Gallery
Dean Gallery
The Dean Gallery is an art gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is part of the National Galleries of Scotland. It was opened in 1999, opposite the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, which is its sister gallery. As the result of a rebranding exercise in 2011, the buildings have now been...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
External links
- Winifred Nicholson site
- Winifred Nicholson at artcyclopedia.com
- Page at Kettle's Yard, with images
- Winifred Nicholson paintings in Tate collection
- Winifred Nicholson paintings in Kettle's Yard collection
- Winifred Nicholson paintings in UK Government Art Collection
- Winifred Nicholson page at National Portrait Galley