William Nicholson by Marguerite Steen (1943)

As a small child dedicated (by others, not by herself) to art, Marguerite Steen made early discovery of an artist named William Nicholson, whom she imagined as “A Big Man with a Beard” and to whom she paid tribute in an essay on his Hundred Jugs (spelt gugs by some oversight on the part of the author)…. During the following twenty-five years their paths frequently approached – notably through their mutual friendship with Ellen Terry, and during the time when William Nicholson occupied a studio in The Pheasantry almost cheek by jowl with that in which Marguerite Steen was studying mime; but it was not until 1943 that their paths met and finally joined, in Spain, which they both love and both in their different ways so ably depicted” With 14 reproductions of paintings by Sir William Nicholson and two photographs of the artist. Condition: Dust-wrapper worn with some chipping and small closed tears to edges. Damp-staining along the top edge of the front board, with resulting cockling to the first few pages. Endpapers and pastedowns a little tanned. Previous owner’s signature to top right corner of front endpaper.