William Nicholson (1872-1949) "The Shire Horse 1904"

William Nicholson (1872-1949) "The Shire Horse 1904"
William Nicholson (1872-1949) Hand-coloured woodcut titled "The Shire Horse 1904", piece measures 203 x 215 mm. Sheet: 420 x 335 mm. Eighteenth plate published in the fourth issue of The Artist Engraver (October 1904), a quarterly magazine edited by Laurence Binyon. The print is preserved in its original publisher's mat A beautiful impression printed on laid paper with watermark, originally trimmed around the framing line and applied to cream intaglio paper. Good condition. William Nicholson is widely admired for his work as a painter, printmaker and theatre designer. William Newzam Prior Nicholson was born on the 5th of February 1872 in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire. Nicholson’s talent for art was noticed early on, and from the age of twelve he enjoyed private drawing lessons from his school drawing master William Cubley. Nicholson left school at the age of 16 to study at Hubert Herkomer’s School of Art in Bushey; however Nicholson was not impressed by the dogmatic teaching there and by October 1891 he left England for Paris. Once there Nicholson studied at the Académie Julian and soon discovered the treasures of the Louvre. Nicholson decided to return home after several months and at some point between 1890 and 1892 he made his first woodcut. In April 1893 Nicholson married Mabel Pryde, who he had met at Herkomer’s, and together they moved to Denham, Buckinghamshire.In 1894 William Nicholson made his first poster design in partnership with his fellow artist, and brother-in-law, James Pryde. The two artists produced various poster designs under the pseudonym J. and W. Beggarstaff over the next few years; these were greatly admired at the International Artistic Pictorial Poster Exhibitions held at the Westminster Aquarium in 1894 and 1896.Nicholson soon turned to the woodcut medium in earnest. In 1896, after seeing William’s woodcut of the Prince of Wales’s Derby-winning horse Persimmon at the Fine Art Society, Whistler recommended the young artist to his friend the publisher William Heinemann. This collaboration was to prove the turning point in Nicholson’s career as a printmaker and key series of ‘cuts’ including An Alphabet, An Almanac of Twelve Sports, London Types, and Twelve Portraits were published by Heinemann to great acclaim over the next few years.
Condition: The absence of a condition report does not imply an object is free of defects. All items may have normal signs of age and wear commensurate with their age; these issues will likely not be mentioned in the condition report. Please contact the auction house before the auction with any condition questions. Questions about condition will not be answered after purchase. Condition reports are provided as a courtesy, and we are not responsible for any errors or omissions.
Important note on frames: Frames are not guaranteed to be in the same condition as they are in the item photograph. Due to handling and shipping, many frames, especially antique ones, are prone to losses. If you have questions about the condition of a frame, please contact us prior to the auction.