Explore: Winifred Nicholson

(1893 - 1981)

Winifred Nicholson was born in Oxford and studied at the Byam Shaw School of Art in London. After travelling in Asia, she married the artist Ben Nicholson in 1920. They lived between Switzerland and London. From 1928 to 1935 both were members of the Seven and Five Society, along with Christopher Wood, Ivon Hitchens, John Piper, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. After separating in 1931, Winifred moved to Paris with their children where artists including Jean Hélion and Piet Mondrian encouraged her to develop her own style. From 1939 she lived in Cumbria but regularly travelled abroad. Her career was overshadowed by the achievements of her ex-husband, yet a major memorial show at the Tate in 1987 helped to redress this.