Sir William Nicholson

William Boultbee, Toronto, Canada
The Goupil Gallery, London
Browse and Darby Ltd, London
Private Collection
Given to the present owners in the early 1990s

Lillian Browse, William Nicholson, Rupert Hart-Davis, London, 1956, p.59, cat. no.156.

The board is sound. There are very minor drying cracks in some of the darker pigments. The paint surface is in good overall condition. Examination under ultra-violet light reveals no signs of retouching. Held in a gold painted composition frame. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 5381 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Painted in 1909, Lustre Goblet with Sweet Peas is a remarkable and early example of two key themes which interested the artist throughout his life; firstly, the scintillating and multifarious play of light on different materials and, secondly, the enduring subject of the still life which provided a very necessary antidote to his hectic life as a fashionable portraitist. The confident and fluid impasto of the present work clearly signals his exemplary draughtsmanship and his unique ability to capture the reflective quality and rich material of the lustre goblet with a few carefully placed highlights. Importantly, this effect directly anticipates his seminal still life executed a few years later, The Lustre Bowl with Green Peas (1911) now in the collection of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh. Moreover, the contrast of the gleaming goblet against the dark yet subtle tones of the background also draws references to still life subjects from the Dutch 17^th Century and are indicative of Nicholson's acute eye for both colour and composition.

Indeed, the elegantly minimal arrangement of the composition is typical of the artist during this period leading up to the First World War and in the next decades, he began to introduce more objects into his still lifes. Like all his works in this genre, whilst it appears at first to be quite spontaneous and informal, in reality, Nicholson was very careful in his consideration of each still life, with the choice of objects and textures balancing each other supremely well. In the present work, the light hues and delicate texture of the sweet peas provides a direct contrast to the polished goblet. In addition, the goblet itself is carefully positioned slightly off centre towards the right of the composition and this is discreetly counter-balanced by the position of the sweet peas on the opposite side resulting in a sophisticated simplicity that demonstrates Nicholson at his very best.

We are grateful to Patricia Reed for her kind assistance with the cataloguing of this lot.