Here are two more works by William Nicholson, Sir William Nicholson, 1872-1949:

The first is a lithograph of Sarah Bernhardt. Apparently Nicholson first made his reputation with graphic work, and it is easy to see why. The litho is simple, strong, and graphically appealing.

The second work is a portrait. Nicholson's portraits, especially his later portraits, are probably his best work. This portrait of J.M.Barrie, author of the play, Peter Pan, is an early piece painted in 1904.

Nicholson was obviously a very competent artist, and yet there is something just a little dull about his work, even his best. In this regard his work reminds me of that of many of the leading illustrators of the period - wonderfully skillful, but somehow not as exciting as it could have been. Competence, or skill, or rather the desire to be seen as competent or skillful, might be part of the problem. It may have played too great a part in Nicholson's life and art, and while we admire competence and skill it is not everything in art. A little lack of competence might have gone a long way.