BEN NICHOLSON, O.M. | Lelant

Gifted by the Artist to the sculptor Denis Mitchell in 1958 and thence by descent to the previous owner
Their sale, Bonhams London, 6th March 2007, lot 133, where acquired by the present owner

London, Tate, Ben Nicholson, 13th October 1993 - 9th January 1994, cat. no.89, illustrated;
St Etienne, Musée d'Art Moderne, Ben Nicholson, 10th February - 25th April 1994;
Kendal, Abbot Hall Art Gallery, A Continuous Line: Ben Nicholson in England, 7th July - 20th September 2008, with tour to De La Ware Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea and Tate, St Ives.

Maurice de Sausmarez (ed.), Ben Nicholson, A Studio International Special, London, 1969, p.73;
Peter Khoroche, Ben Nicholson, Drawings and Painted Reliefs, Lund Humphries, Aldershot, 2002, cat. no.34, illustrated p.54.

Unexamined out of frame. The work is executed on a slightly glossy paper. The sheet appears to be laid down to the supportive mount with adhesive tabs in each of the corners. There is a small tear in the upper right corner, possibly associated with an old pinhole. In the upper right quadrant there is an 8cm. diagonal crease running from the upper edge to the right edge. There is a further 8cm crease running diagonally from the right edge towards the lower edge. There are some further creases and handling marks in the lower right and upper left corners. There are small nicks and creases to all four edges. There is an area of rubbing to the sheet at the centre running towards the lower edge, and at the lower left corner, in keeping with the Artist's working methods. There is some light staining and surface dirt to the sheet. This excepting the work appears in good overall condition. The work is held behind plexiglass in a simple, painted wooden frame. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 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."

We are grateful to Dr Lee Beard for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.


The present work was gifted by Ben Nicholson to the sculptor Denis Mitchell, also the recipient of Patrick Heron's Interior at St Andrews Street, St Ives, lot 11.

'This drawing was probably made on the same day as March 1948 (tree, Lelant). In the foreground are the two gravestones which are depicted in the background of the latter. The faces of these gravestones are in reality so weather-beaten that the names on the stones are hard to decipher. Beyond the cemetry is the Lelant golf course, where Nicholson used to play, and on the other side of the estuary is the power station that Nicholson helped to camouflage during the war. The power station no longer exists. On the extreme left is Godrevy lighthouse. It is typical of Nicholson not only to unite the picturesque with the ugly but to make the ugly, in the form of the pylons, something picturesque' (Jeremy Lewison, Ben Nicholson, exh. cat., Tate, London, 1993, p.226). 

Patrick Heron drew the same view as early as 1927, Hayl. Docs. From Lelant, 'which depicts the same view from a point just outside the churchyard of St Uny, Lelent ... Both drawings notice the aerial linearities of the power cables, and the receding curving parallels by which the distance is defined' (Mel Gooding, Patrick Heron, Phaidon, London, 1994, p.23).