Phillida Nicholson (1924 - 2021) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

-born artist and Land Girl.

Early life

Phillida Nicholson was born in

Bodfari Bodfari is a village and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Until the local government reorganisation of 1974, Bodfari was in the historic county of Flintshire. The ancient parish of Bodfari comprised the townships of Bodfari, which was in histor ...

, North Wales. She was the youngest daughter of Molly and Richard Nicholson. During

World War Two World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Nicholson served in the

Women's Land Army The Women's Land Army (WLA) was a British civilian organisation created in 1917 by the Board of Agriculture during the First World War to bring women into work in agriculture, replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the W ...

After the war, Nicholson studied at the

Liverpool College of Art Liverpool College of Art is located at 68 Hope Street, in Liverpool, England. It is a Grade II listed building. The original building, facing Mount Street, was designed by Thomas Cook and completed in 1883. The extension along Hope Street, ...

. Initially interested in sculpture, she later worked with oil painting and as a tapestry designer. Nicholson furthered her studies at the

Florence Academy of Fine Arts The Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze ("academy of fine arts of Florence") is an instructional art academy in Florence, in Tuscany, in central Italy. It was founded by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1563, under the influence of Giorgio Vasari. ...

, the Académie André Lhote in Paris, and at

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

Career

Nicholson widely travelled during her career across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, and Australia, and worked as an archaeological artist on British and American digs. Her work has been exhibited at multiple locations, including the

Redfern Gallery The Redfern Gallery is an exhibition space in the West End of London specialising in contemporary British art. It was founded by Arthur Knyvett-Lee and Anthony Maxtone Graham in 1923 as an artists' cooperative on the top floor of Redfern H ...

, the

Piccadilly Gallery The Piccadilly Gallery was an art gallery that operated from a number of addresses in London between 1953 and 2007. It was originally founded as the Pilkington Gallery in 1953 by Eve Pilkington and her husband Godfrey Pilkington, with a focus o ...

and the

Leicester Galleries Leicester Galleries was an art gallery located in London from 1902 to 1977 that held exhibitions of modern British, French and international artists' works. Its name was acquired in 1984 by Peter Nahum, who operates "Peter Nahum at the Leiceste ...

in London, the

Minories Minories ( ) is the name of a small former administrative unit, and also of a street in central London. Both the street and the former administrative area take their name from the Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare without Aldgate. Both are ...

in Colchester, and the Ashgate Gallery in Farnham, Hampshire, with her paintings touring in Wales between 1953-4 and again in 1964.

Notable works

''The Village'' (1953),

National Museum Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

. ''The Shepherd'' (1956),

. ''Bore Llachar, Aberdaron'' (date unknown)
Oriel Mon

Later life

Nicholson spent her winters in a small studio in Battersea, where she would walk around London and visit galleries. She developed dementia, and died in early 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Phillida Welsh women painters 1924 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Welsh painters 20th-century Welsh women artists Alumni of Liverpool College of Art People from Denbighshire