Modern & Post-War British Art
Modern & Post-War British Art
Property from the Collection of Dr Frank Rentsch
BEN NICHOLSON
VINEYARD IN WINTER, CORTIVALLO
Lot Closed
November 17, 03:41 PM GMT
Estimate
25,000 - 35,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from the Collection of Dr Frank Rentsch
BEN NICHOLSON
1894 - 1982
VINEYARD IN WINTER, CORTIVALLO
indistinctly signed Benjamin Nicholson, indistinctly dated 1923 and possibly titled viney... (on the canvas overlap)
oil on canvas
unframed: 56.5 by 62cm.; 22¼ by 24½in.
framed: 81 by 87.5cm.; 32 by 34½in.
Executed in 1923.
We are grateful to Dr Rachel Smith and Dr Lee Beard for their kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work, which will be included in their forthcoming catalogue raisonné for Ben Nicholson, and to Jovan Nicholson, for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.
Lady Aurea McLeod
Lord Carlisle
Crane Kalman Gallery, London, where acquired by the father of the present owner in November 1996, and thence by family descent
London, Paterson Gallery, 1923, 4th Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture, 26 November – 22 December 1923, no. 10, as Vineyard in Winter, possibly
London, Crane Kalman Gallery, Ben Nicholson and Two Wives - Winifred Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth, 21 March - 4 May 1996 (as Cortivallo)
Collecting art was one of the great passions of Dr Frank Rentsch. His family remembers a house that was a constantly changing and evolving exhibition of pieces of art which he had acquired on his travels. Over the years he became particularly interested in the works of Richard Hamilton, Henry Moore and Ben Nicholson, and enthusiastically delved into their lives, backgrounds, working methods and techniques. Later, Dr Rentsch made certain that others were able to enjoy his collection - the Kunstmuseum Winterthur in Switzerland now houses an extensive collection of works by Richard Hamilton, and Alan Cristea put together a wonderful exhibition of his collection of prints by Ben Nicholson.
Sharing his love of art with his family was also important, and his children enjoyed art history lessons whenever they visited a museum or gallery with him. They still remember a family trip to Cornwall specifically to see firsthand the landscapes that had so inspired Ben Nicholson.