33. John Nicolson
(1891-1951)
Quiet Hour

(click on image to print)
Nicolson, Quiet Hour

Quiet Hour

Drypoint, 177 x 219 mm. Very fine impression, with rich burr, on laid paper with full margins, signed and numbered in pencil from the edition of 50; the paper lightly and evenly toned across the image Nicolson, a close friend of Edmund Blampied, was a fine watercolorist and a book illustrator (under the name of Nick), as well as a print maker. In the latter capacity, at least, he is today a forgotten man. When the Etching Revival collapsed as a commercial enterprise, essentially with the stock market crash of 1929, the work of hundreds of artists descended into obscurity. Many have since been rescued, a few at a time, but others, like Nicolson’s, remain in the dark regions. So there are still artists to rediscover. In his area – country scenes, horses, dogs – Nicolson was a master, totally assured in his drawing and drypoint technique, anatomically unexceptionable, artistically distinctive. Yes, there is a certain resemblance to Blampied, but as a co-worker in subject matter, not as a follower or imitator. A worthy print.