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Lot Essay
A view of the Sussex Downs near Rottingdean, in Sussex, where Nicholson had had a house since 1909. The exact location is unidentified, but two white tracks in the chalk can be seen converging in the centre of the painting and the sea cannot be far away, probably to the right down through a wooded gulley to the beach. Nicholson's landscapes at this period divide between the oils on canvas board of the 13 to 16ins size and the slightly larger works on canvas where the more abstract, formal qualities of the landscape are often apparent. In many of these works the sky occupies more than half the picture space as Nicholson captures the immensity and freedom of the downs, then accessible only on foot or horseback. In the year this work was painted Nicholson wrote to his patron T.W. Bacon, who had purchased several notable downland paintings: 'My downs are a little more wonderful than I ever saw them and to think of the poor fog-drowned devils in dirty London! ... I have ridden nearly forty miles over the Downs these last two days and feel almost too happy and stiff to paint' (9 October 1912).
This work was formerly in the collection of Charles Bravington (1910-2000) who first became interested in Nicholson's work when a student at Cambridge where he studied architecture with Kit Nicholson, the artist's youngest son. He was not in a position to patronise the artist during his lifetime but in the 1950s he began purchasing Nicholson's works from galleries and in the sale rooms. Sports on the S.S. Cedric which he sold at Christie's in June 1988 made a world record price for the artist of £82,500, a sum which was not exceeded for over a decade. After Mr Bravington's death a notable collection of Nicholson's works was sold at Christie's in June 2001.
This work was formerly in the collection of Charles Bravington (1910-2000) who first became interested in Nicholson's work when a student at Cambridge where he studied architecture with Kit Nicholson, the artist's youngest son. He was not in a position to patronise the artist during his lifetime but in the 1950s he began purchasing Nicholson's works from galleries and in the sale rooms. Sports on the S.S. Cedric which he sold at Christie's in June 1988 made a world record price for the artist of £82,500, a sum which was not exceeded for over a decade. After Mr Bravington's death a notable collection of Nicholson's works was sold at Christie's in June 2001.