William Nicholson, 1872 – 1949

Sir William Newzam Prior Nicholson (1872-1949) was a British still-life, landscape and portrait painter. A veritable renaissance man, Nicholson also worked as a wood-engraver and lithographer, an illustrator, an author of children's books, and a designer for the theater. He spent six months in Paris in 1891 studying at the Académie Julian before returning to his childhood home in England, Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire.

In 1898, Nicholson produced illustrations for the Almanach de Douze Sports, a French edition of the Almanac of Twelve Sports. He won a gold medal for his Almanach in the graphic works section of the art competitions held at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Nicholson spent most of his career exhibiting in the U.K. but records show that there was one exhibition of his works in Paris at the Galeries Barbazanges in 1905.

Nicholson's painting style was heavily influenced by Whistler, who encouraged him as a young artist. Later in his career, in the 1930s, Nicholson was a respected teacher who could count Winston Churchill among his pupils. Though he may not be a household name, Nicholson made some significant contributions to literary and artistic history: he provided the illustrations for 1922's The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, widely considered a children's classic; he designed the original settings for the theatrical debut of Peter Pan in 1904; and he designed covers and illustrated several early books by his son-in-law, Robert Graves, later famous for such historical novels as I, Claudius and The Golden Fleece. His life and work are chronicled by The William Nicholson Trust.