Christopher Nicholson

Christopher Nicholson (1904-1948) was a leading British architect and designer of the early Modern Movement in Britain. His most notable works of the 1930s were comparable to the advanced modern abstract style of his older brother, the artist Ben Nicholson, OM, (1894-1982).

Early life and education

The son of artists William Nicholson and Mabel Pryde, Christopher David George "Kit" Nicholson^[1] was educated at Gresham's School, Holt, from 1917 to 1922. He went up to Cambridge University to read Architecture, where he was at St. John's College. Nicholson had two older siblings, sculptor Ben Nicholson and fabric designer Nancy Nicholson, and a younger brother Anthony who was killed in action in 1918 in the First World War^[2].

Career

After graduation, Nicholson taught at the Cambridge School of Architecture, where one of his pupils was Hugh Casson. They later went into partnership together in an architectural firm.

Through his major projects of the 1930s, Nicholson contributed to the development of Modernism in Great Britain. His style in some ways reflected the abstract art of his brother Ben Nicholson.

In 1931 Nicholson married Elsie Queen Myers, best known as the fabric designer EQ Nicholson. His wife assisted in the office he ran with Casson.

A gliding enthusiast, Nicholson died at age 44 on 28 July 1948 in a gliding accident in Italy.^[3]

Legacy and honors

In 1990, the Royal Institute of British Architects Drawings Collection acquired Nicholson's complete collection of drawings, records and photographs. A selection was reproduced in Neil Bingham's book Christopher Nicholson (1996), from the early projects through to his major buildings, such as Augustus John's studio and the London Gliding Club. In the late 1940s, he designed aeroplane livery, and radio and television sets.

References

1. ^ http://www.springsgov.com/page.aspx?navid=2597
2. ^ http://thelightbox.org/blog/
3. ^ Wills, P A. On being a bird. Max Parrish, 1953

• "Christopher Nicholson", The National Archives, UK
• Neil Bingham, Christopher Nicholson - RIBA Drawings Monographs No. 4 (Academy Editions, 1996) ISBN 1854904450
• "Obituary of Sir Hugh Casson"{{dead link))
• Nicholson Blueprint from the V&A

Persondata
Name	Nicholson, Christopher
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Date of birth	1904
Place of birth
Date of death	1948
Place of death