“I suppose mine are really drawings on prepared copper and I like very much the clear line and resistance of the material and the smooth run of the implement”
—Ben NicholsonAlongside his paintings and reliefs, for which he became internationally established, Nicholson made a significant body of prints that he produced in phases throughout his life. After an initial foray into relief printing, mainly using linocut, the artist dedicated the years following the Second World War to drypoint. Treating printmaking as another form of drawing, Nicholson said of his own practice "the bite of the steel point into the metal is a terrific experience when all goes right and the necessity I am finding to reduce the idea to a series of lines is interesting."Both Trendrine (1948) and Pisa (1951) derive from this period of the artist’s practice. Their solid forms and defined lines illustrate Nicholson’s application of the drypoint needle as a drawing implement. Comparable to his quick studies and preparatory drawings, these drypoints capture Nicholson’s keen eye for observation and rapid draftsmanship. From a small edition of six, Trendrine is signed in the plate – a unique, richly inked print from the series.
Trendrine closely resembles other works from Nicholson’s stays in Cornwall. As in 1940 (Cornish landscape), Nicholson contrasts the soft rolling hills of the countryside against the strong geometric shapes of the man-made. Alongside Pisa, which was created three years later, Nicholson’s simplified buildings demonstrate the artist's ability to understand the character inherent to an object. Coming from the Rentsch collection, these rare proofs demonstrate the artist’s ability to command a new technique and make it his own.
Ben Nicholson, 1940 (Cornish Landscape), 1940. Image: © Bolton Museum and Art Gallery / Bridgeman Images, Artwork: © Angela Verren Taunt. All rights reserved, DACS 2022. In a long life spanning London, St Ives, and Switzerland, Buckinghamshire-born Ben Nicholson paved the way for abstraction in Britain. Admired by peers, Nicholson spent his career moving seamlessly between the figurative and the abstract. While pioneering his painted reliefs – his great contribution to Modernism – he continued to be inspired by the many influences coming out of Europe. He travelled to the studios of Picasso, Braque, Arp, Brancusi and Mondrian to explore art as expression and understand how these artists pushed boundaries to, in Nicholson’s words, "flout convention." Spending much of his life in England, Nicholson heavily involved himself with his contemporaries. For example, Nicholson co-founded Unit One with Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, a group whose aim, according to Paul Nash, was "to stand for the expression of a truly contemporary spirit, for that thing which is recognised as peculiarly of today in painting, sculpture and architecture."
Provenance
Collection of Dr. Frank Rentsch
Acquired directly from the above by the present ownerLiterature
François Lafranca 17
Alan Cristea 25 (this copy illustrated)
137
Trendrine (L. 17, C. 25)
1948
Drypoint, on light laid paper, with full margins.
I. 17.4 x 24.6 cm (6 7/8 x 9 5/8 in.)
S. 22.7 x 29.4 cm (8 7/8 x 11 5/8 in.)
Numbered 6/6 in pencil, framed.
Estimate
£4,000 - 6,000 ♠
Rebecca Tooby-Desmond
Specialist, Head of Sale, Editions
T +44 207 318 4079
M +44 7502 417366
rtooby-desmond@phillips.com
Robert Kennan
Head of Editions, Europe
T +44 207 318 4075
M +44 7824 994 784
rkennan@phillips.com
Anne Schneider-Wilson
Senior International Specialist, Editions
T +44 207 318 4042
M +44 7760 864 748
aschneider-wilson@phillips.com
Evening & Day Editions
London Auction 18 - 19 January 2023
168
This lot is no longer available.
300
This lot is no longer available.
