Unknown Colour

Nicholson (1893-1981) strove to make her paintings living things, with a rhythm and flow like music. Her pictures are intensely beautiful, surprising and deeply moving, containing a mysterious poetic quality that is all her own. Flowers and landscapes are points of departure into a world of light and color. Her magnetic abstracts, made in Paris in the 1930s, benefited from her contacts with Arp, Mondrian, Gabo and Kandinsky. She was married to painter Ben Nicholson and belonged to the 7 and 5 Society whose members included Barbara Hepworth, with whom Ben ran off. The Nicholsons remained friends, however, and their letters, reprinted here, attest to a fertile creative relationship. Illustrated with reproductions of Winifred Nicholson's work, this anthology of reminiscences and theoretical writings illuminates an artist who deserves to be better known. (November 25)