Sir William Nicholson (1872-1949)
Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's… Read more
Sir William Nicholson (1872-1949)

Study for a Portrait of Nancy Nicholson

Details
Sir William Nicholson (1872-1949)
Study for a Portrait of Nancy Nicholson
signed and dated 'Nicholson 1918' (lower right) and inscribed 'Study for a Portrait' (on the supporting board)
pencil and ink
9 ½ x 6 7/8 in. (24.2 x 17.5 cm.)
Provenance
with Browse & Darby, London, where purchased by the present owner in December 1977.
Special Notice
Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent. These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Lot Essay

The subject is the artist’s 18-year old daughter, the designer Nancy Nicholson, in her uniform as a member of the Women’s Land Army. She was very proud of her uniform and of her work. In January 1918 she married the soldier-poet Robert Graves, and they departed for their honeymoon both in uniform. Nicholson probably executed the sketch around this date as he came to terms with the fact that his daughter was now a married woman.

The figure is based on a 1917 studio photograph by Malcolm Arbuthnot of Nancy and her dog that is reproduced in A. Nicholson (ed.), William Nicholson, Painter: Paintings, Woodcuts, Writings, Photographs, London, 1996, p. 159. In his sketch Nicholson has substituted two greyhounds for Nancy’s favourite. They recall an earlier work Hawking, 1902, which includes greyhounds, and also Nancy’s brother Ben. An associated work is a gouache, La Dame des lévriers, 1901 - see P. Reed, William Nicholson: Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, London, 2011, pp. 76-7, fig. 64, illustrated.

Nicholson very rarely did preliminary sketches for his portraits and it is unlikely that he intended a portrait of his daughter based on Arbuthnot’s photograph.

We are very grateful to Patricia Reed for preparing this catalogue entry.

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