Advanced Search 
Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
April 1957 (Celestial Blue)
Ben Nicholson (English, 1894–1982)
1957
Medium/Technique
Oil on Masonite
Dimensions
108 x 121.9 cm (42 1/2 x 48 in.)
Credit Line
Tompkins Collection—Arthur Gordon Tompkins Fund
Accession Number60.961
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope, Contemporary Art
ClassificationsPaintings
Nicholson drew early inspiration from cubist still life paintings by Braque and Picasso, but his own works—especially those from the 1950s—go further by embracing almost complete abstraction. His compositions feature deconstructed, silhouetted objects that are largely architectural, that seem to overlap and frame each other in a system of transparent layers. This painting dates to the decade of Nicholson’s greatest success, when the artist was recognized with several international awards and a retrospective exhibition of his work at the Tate Gallery in London.
InscriptionsVerso: Ben Nicholson / April 1957
Provenance1959, sold by the artist to Gimpel Fils, London; 1960, sold by Gimpel to Galerie Charles Lienhard, Zürich [see note 1]; 1960, sold by Galerie Lienhard to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 21, 1960)
NOTES:
[1] Information about these transactions was provided in a letter from Charles Gimpel of Gimpel Fils to the MFA (January 22, 1963).
NOTES:
[1] Information about these transactions was provided in a letter from Charles Gimpel of Gimpel Fils to the MFA (January 22, 1963).
Copyright© 2011 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / DACS, London.