Ben Nicholson - Background and Training

Background and Training

Ben Nicholson was born on 10 April 1894 in Denham, Buckinghamshire, Nicholson was the son of the painters Sir William Nicholson and Mabel Pryde, and the brother of artist Nancy Nicholson, architect Christopher Nicholson and Anthony Nicholson. His maternal grandmother Barbara Pryde (née Lauder) was a niece of the famous artist brothers Robert Scott Lauder and James Eckford Lauder. The family moved to London in 1896; and Nicholson was educated at Tyttenhangar Lodge Preparatory School, Seaford, Heddon Court, Hampstead and then as a boarder at Gresham's School, Holt, Norfolk. He trained as an artist in London at the Slade School of Fine Art from 1910–1914, where he was a contemporary of Paul Nash, Stanley Spencer, Mark Gertler, and Edward Wadsworth.

Nicholson was married three times.

His first marriage was to Winifred Roberts and it took place on 5 November 1920 at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church, London. Nicholson and Winifred had three children, a son Jake in June 1927, a daughter Kate in July 1929 (who later became an artist herself) and a son Andrew in September 1931. They were divorced in 1938.

His second marriage was to fellow artist Barbara Hepworth on 17 November 1938 at Hampstead Register Office. Nicholson and Hepworth had triplets, two daughters Sarah and Rachel and a son Simon in 1934. They were divorced in 1951.

The third and final marriage was to Felicitas Vogler, a German photographer. They married July 1957 and divorced 1977.