Ben Nicholson

An intimate look at Ben Nicholson's everyday inspirations

This book examines the artistic partnership of Ben Nicholson and Winifred Nicholson in the 1920s and their friendship and collaboration with Christopher Wood, Alfred Wallis, and the potter William Staite Murray. Inspired by each other, the Nicholsons experimented furiously and often painted the same subject, one as a colorist the other more interested in form. Winifred wrote of her time with Ben, 'All artists are unique and can only unite as complementaries not as similarities'. New research based on previously unpublished letters, photographs and other material draws out their fascinating connections. All the works, many of which are previously unpublished, are illustrated in full color, each with comments relating to the work by the artists and their critics.

Throughout his life, Ben Nicholson (1894-1982) was a prolific and creative writer. Correspondent to many, his unpublished letters, selected and extracted here for the first time (along with published writings), reveal fascinating insight into significant events and encounters at various stages of the artist's career, while also demonstrating how Nicholson's aesthetic was interwoven into every aspect of his daily life. Including previously unpublished correspondence to both Winifred Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth, these letters are complemented by those sent to some of the artist's closest friends and trusted supporters, among them Herbert Read, Adrian Stokes, Jim Ede and Margaret Gardiner. Throughout, Nicholson's lively intellect and total commitment to art are clearly evident, as is his association and friendship with some of the key figures of international Modernism, including Mondrian, Henry Moore, and Picasso. Featuring reproductions of key works and selected letters, Ben Nicholson: Writings and Ideas is an invaluable resource to all those interested in the work of this key British artist and the period in which he worked.

Ben Nicholson's work reflects the concerns of a generation educated and influenced by Daniel Libeskind and John Hejduk but establishes a highly individual search for rigor, precision, and craftsmanship in architecture. Here he analyzes the structure and form of everyday objects such as appliances and bread tags to construct the theoretical and physical framework for an Appliance House, a shelter from Sub-Urban life, a receptacle for all the forgotten objects of society. This book brings together numerous sketches, pencil drawings, color collages, and models that provide a detailed account of this unique four­year project. Ben Nicholson is Studio Professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He completed Appliance House as a Fellow of the Chicago Institute for Architecture and Urbanism.