Ben Nicholson, one of Britain’s foremost 20th century artists, pictured in 1932.
During his long career, Ben Nicholson established his reputation as one of the most important British Abstract artists of the 20th century, and his contribution to Modernist art is still widely hailed to this day.
By the time of his death in 1982, Ben Nicholson had achieved significant fame and success, and his art continues to be popular in today’s market, particularly in the United Kingdom. Indeed, Nicholson prints – which account for 55% of his work sold at auction – generally fetch between £1,000 and £5,000, and they regularly far exceed their estimates.
Below is a list of Ben Nicholson’s six most expensive prints sold at auction. If you own a Ben Nicholson print and would like to find out more about how much it might be worth, or how to sell it, why not contact Mark Littler today?
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Letters And Numbers
This linocut on cloth is believed to date from about 1933, the year that Nicholson joined the Abstraction-Création group based in Paris. The group consisted of international sculptors and painters who all encouraged the use of abstract principles in art, and it ran between 1931 and 1936.
1933 is also the year Ben Nicholson made his first abstract relief – an indication of the direction his art was travelling in, away from the still life and landscape paintings of his youth and toward the uncompromising abstract style that would make him famous. The Letters and Numbers print was sold by Sotheby’s in May 2012 for £34,000, almost seven times its estimated value.
Letters and Numbers sold by Sotheby’s in 2012
Abstract With Red Circle
This print was never editioned or recorded, and therefore it is unknown exactly how many copies there are, though it’s believed to be a fairly small number; unsurprisingly, this makes it a very rare Nicholson print, and it was sold for a hammer price of £28,000 by Christie’s in April 2011. The print dates from 1937 or ’38, when Nicholson was deep into his exploration of Constructivism, and when much of his work was made up of simple geometric forms. The burst of red in this otherwise monochrome print is unusual for Nicholson, adding a touch of drama to the black and white shapes.
Abrastract With Red Circle sold by Christie’s in 2011
Rhodos (Variations On A Theme, No.4)
By the mid-1950s, Ben Nicholson had attained significant international success, and in 1958, he moved to Switzerland with his third wife, the German photographer Felicitas Vogler. From there, the couple often travelled to other countries, spending prolonged periods of time in Italy, Greece, and Turkey. This print depicting the island of Rhodes dates from 1965, the same year the artist also created Olympia, based on the ruins of the ancient archaeological site in the Peloponnese. Rhodos (Variations on a Theme, no.4) was sold by Sotheby’s in November 2022 for £23,541.
Rhodos (Variations On A Theme, No.4) sold by Sotheby’s in 2022
Greek And Turkish Forms
Nicholson’s interest in the Aegean region is clear to see once again in these etchings, constructed from the artist’s carefully calculated abstract shapes and lines. The prints are devoid of all colour, and they’ve been stripped of context so the viewer can focus only on the motifs presented by Nicholson, be it the columns and arches of Patmos Monastery or the swirling waves of Aegean. The prints are fairly popular in today’s market, and this edition was sold by Galerie Kornfeld Auktionen AG for £22,176.
Greek and Turkish Forms sold by Galerie Kornfeld Auktionen AG
Architectural Suite
Ben Nicholson once said: “the kind of painting which I find exciting is not necessarily representational or non-representational, but it is both musical and architectural, where the architectural construction is used to express a “musical” relationship between form, tone and colour.”
Nicholson’s fascination with beautiful architecture is clear to see in this series of ten etchings from 1965, which were published with an introduction by Herbert Read, who championed 20th century British art and had a particular interest in Ben Nicholson. The Architectural Suite series was sold by Christie’s in September 2011 for £22,000, and, like in Greek and Turkish Forms, it highlighted the architecture of several stunning buildings using pared down, minimalist abstract shapes and a limited colour palette.
Architectural Suite sold by Christie’s in 2011
Man and Women: Heads in Profile
In 1921, Nicholson made his first trip to Paris, a city he would subsequently return to numerous times. It was here that he first encountered Cubism, and the ideas quickly found their way into his own art, changing the way he worked forever. In the artist’s own words, “Cubism, once discovered, couldn’t be undiscovered”. The influence of the avant-garde movement is clear to see in the geometric shapes and multiple perspectives of this print from 1933, which was sold by Kornfeld Galerie & Cie in June 2004 for £20,464, an impressive 15 times more than its estimate.
By 1933, Ben Nicholson and sculptor Barbara Hepworth – who would later become his second wife – had become romantically involved, and each was being affected by the other’s work. The two British artists also travelled together throughout Europe around this time, meeting other contemporary artists they admired, including Joan Miró, Piet Mondrian, and Picasso. Though Hepworth and Nicholson divorced in 1951, the influence they had on each other’s art is undeniable, and it continues to be felt long after their deaths.
Man and Woman: Heads in Profile sold by Kornfeld Galerie & Cie’s in 2004
