Rachel Nicholson: Reflecting on 90 Years

Rachel is often referred to as a "late starter," having begun painting at 40. However, she has now spent more of her life as an artist than not, showing unwavering dedication to her work. This can be seen throughout her paintings. Many have been revisited or reworked, sometimes years later, giving them a greater sense of depth and intimacy. Rachel has a natural instinct for knowing when a painting moves from 'in progress' to 'complete.' What may seem like a minor shift to the viewer holds significance to her.

At Rachel's first London exhibition, her father, Ben, arrived unannounced and told the gallery owner, "I had never realised she could paint so well. I would have been happy to have painted that one myself." As a self taught artist, this meant a great deal to Rachel. With parents of such stature in the art world, and a legacy behind them, it may have felt daunting. Yet, Rachel built a career and a distinctive style that is very much her own.

Still-life objects were the focus of Rachel’s first paintings and have remained central to her work for over 50 years. For this reason, The Viewing Room retrospective will highlight these works. We are grateful to Rachel and her family for lending us some of the cherished objects featured in these paintings. They will be on display throughout the exhibition.

Her still-life paintings often feature the same objects, returned to repeatedly, allowing her to gain a deep familiarity with her subjects.

These objects are personally meaningful, many passed down from her father, Ben Nicholson, and in some cases belonging to William Nicholson before that.

"from early childhood, [Rachel] has been obsessed by objects and their meticulous arrangment in relation to each other and their surroundings ...HER STUDIO NOW HAS THE PANORAMIC LOOK OF AN INTERIOR LANDSCAPE LOVINGLY STUDDED WITH GLASS, METAL & CERAMIC".

The artist daughter of two of the Titans of Modern British Art. At her first London exhibition in June 1980, Rachel's father Ben Nicholson, commented on one picture, Still Life on Navy Blue, 1979: 'I never realised she could paint so well. I would have been happy to have painted that one myself'.

With the daunting heritage on her father's side of two generations of Nicholson artists, and as the daughter of Barbara Hepworth, a sculptor described as the most important female artist in history, Rachel soon grew to create a distinctive style of her own and has seen her artistic reputation become increasingly her own.

Despite growing up in a creative environment, it wasn’t until relatively later in life, when her youngest child started school, that Nicholson began to paint at the age of 41. At first she painted still life compositions, developing over the years into a range of landscape images ranging from Cumbria, Derbyshire and Cornwall. Her first solo exhibition was held in 1979 at the Field Gallery, Nottingham. This was followed in 1980, by her first solo London exhibition, at the Montpelier Studio, where she continued to exhibit for the next 20 years.

She has exhibited at numerous prestigious public and private galleries, including Beaux Arts Bath, Crane Kalman (The Nicholsons) and Tate St Ives.

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Her still-life paintings often feature the same objects, returned to repeatedly, allowing her to gain a deep familiarity with her subjects.

These objects are personally meaningful, many passed down from her father, Ben Nicholson, and in some cases belonging to William Nicholson before that.

"from early childhood, [Rachel] has been obsessed by objects and their meticulous arrangment in relation to each other and their surroundings ...HER STUDIO NOW HAS THE PANORAMIC LOOK OF AN INTERIOR LANDSCAPE LOVINGLY STUDDED WITH GLASS, METAL & CERAMIC".

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