WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Ben Nicholson

Ben Nicholson

Ben Nicholson

?–1982

WA-00016928

SculptureCubismAbstract ArtConstructivism

Representation

None documented

18

Institutional Exhibitions

17

Works in Collection

38

Assets Indexed

7

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (2)

WikidataQ281637

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Abstractions

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1988–1989

No image

Contrasts of Form: Geometric Abstract Art, 1910�1980

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1985–1986

No image

Prints from Blocks: Gauguin to Now

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1983

No image

Abstraction-Cr�ation, Art Non-Figuratif

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1977

No image

Ways of Looking

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1971

No image

Masters of British Painting, 1800�1950

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1956

No image

Selections from the Art Lending Service

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1955

No image

XXVth Anniversary Exhibition: Paintings from the Museum Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1954–1955

No image

Modern Relief

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1951

No image

Painting and Sculpture from the Museum Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1950

No image

Modern Art in Your Life

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1949

No image

Paintings, Sculpture, and Graphic Arts from the Museum Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1946–1954

Field Verification (7 fields)

0 cross-verified · 7 single-source

BiographyWikidata· 70%
Birth yearWikidata· 70%
Death yearWikidata· 70%
LocationWikidata· 70%
NationalityWikidata· 70%
Primary mediumWikidata· 70%
Profile imageWikidata· 70%

Source Registry (2)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/4293
Tier 1 · Institutional92%
Wikidata
Tier 1 · Institutional40%

About

Why this artist matters now

Ben Nicholson was a British sculptor whose practice spanned abstract and figurative forms across stone, bronze, and wood. Active from the early twentieth century through the 1980s, he developed a distinctive approach to volumetric composition that engaged with modernist reduction without abandoning representational anchor points. His work bridges constructivist and organic formal traditions, characterised by precise carving and a refined material sensibility.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 29d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Cubism

Medium

Sculpture

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art Museum of Modern ArtNew York Art Institute of Chicago

Canonical record

Artworks (17)

Ronco

1968 · Etching

Museum of Modern Art

Two Sculptural Forms

Two Sculptural Forms

1968 · Etching

Museum of Modern Art

Locmariaquer 5

1964 · Oil on board mounted on painted wood

38 1/2 x 55 7/8" (98 x 141.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled

1962 · Pencil and oil paint [?] on paper on painted masonite

sheet: 14 5/16 × 20" (36.3 × 50.8 cm); masonite: 20 13/16 × 26 1/4" (52.8 × 66.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

January 1957 (Goblets in Shadow)

January 1957 (Goblets in Shadow)

1957 · Paint and graphite on fiberboard

Unframed: 51.1 × 64.5 cm (20 1/8 × 25 7/16 in.); 51.2 × 64.5 cm (20 1/8 × 25 3/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Three Goblets and Pewter Mug

Three Goblets and Pewter Mug

1957 · Graphite, with ochre pencil, on off-white card

36.8 × 47.5 cm (14 1/2 × 18 3/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

March 1955 (Campanile)

March 1955 (Campanile)

1955 · Paint and graphite on carved fiberboard

Unframed: 75.1 × 41.6 cm (29 5/8 × 16 7/16 in.); 75.1 × 41.6 cm (29 9/16 × 16 3/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Painting 1943

1943 · Gouache and pencil on board mounted on painted wood frame

9 3/4 x 10" (24.6 x 25.3 cm) including painted wood frame

Museum of Modern Art

1942 · Cut and pasted paper boards with opaque watercolor and graphite on paper board

9 7/16 × 12 1/16 in. (24 × 30.6 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gouache 1940-43

Gouache 1940-43

1940 · Gouache on board

9 1/2 x 9 3/4" (24.1 x 24.8 cm) including painted wood frame

Museum of Modern Art

Painted Relief

1939 · Oil and pencil on boards mounted on painted plywood

32 7/8 x 45" (83.5 x 114.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Gouache 1938-42

Gouache 1938-42

1938 · Gouache and pencil on board

10 x 12 1/2" (25.4 x 31.8 cm) including painted wood frame

Museum of Modern Art

Abstract Composition

Abstract Composition

1936 · Gouache on paper on board

sheet: 15 × 20 1/8" (38.1 × 51.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Imperial Airways

Imperial Airways

1935 · Lithograph

38 3/4 x 23 5/8" (98.4 x 60 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Five Circles (plate, folio 35) from 23 Gravures

Five Circles (plate, folio 35) from 23 Gravures

1934 · Lithograph from an illustrated book with twelve etchings (one with aquatint and drypoint), five drypoints, three engravings (one with drypoint), two lithographs, and one woodcut

composition (irreg.): 6 1/4 × 7 7/8" (15.8 × 20 cm); sheet: 8 5/16 × 11" (21.1 × 28 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Coin and Musical Instruments

1933 · Oil on board

42 × 48 in. (106.7 × 121.9 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Untitled

Collage, ink, and graphite on paper

61 × 102 cm (24 × 40 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

View all 17 artworks →

Artwork sources (3)

17 published of 29 catalogued · 27 with image

MoMA
11 publishedof 23 catalogued23 img
Art Institute Chicago
4 published4 img
The Met
2 published

Record

Images

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

Three Goblets and Pewter Mug (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

8

Movements3

Cubism Abstract Art Constructivism

Collections5

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art Museum of Modern Art Art Institute of Chicago Christie's

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Market

Auction sale history

Houses that have sold works by this artist at auction