Spanning Nicholson’s career – from bold graphic prints to luminous still lifes and intimate portraits – the exhibition brings together works from national collections, private lenders and the artist’s family.

If you’re planning a visit before it closes, here are five highlights not to miss.

At first glance, the composition of Gold Jug appears simple: a gleaming jug set against a softly suggested background. But linger a moment and the painting begins to reveal its magic. The metallic surface catches the light so convincingly that it seems almost liquid, while the surrounding space dissolves into loose, atmospheric brushwork.

Painted late in the career of William Nicholson, the work shows the confidence and restraint of an artist at the height of his talent. The jug becomes something more than an object – part still life, part landscape, part meditation on light.

We are hugely honoured to display Gold Jug on loan from His Majesty The King via the Royal Collection Trust, a rare opportunity to see this extraordinary painting in the context of Nicholson’s wider career.

Among the exhibition’s most intimate works is this portrait of Nicholson’s young son, Ben Nicholson.

Painted when Ben was around six or seven years old, the portrait captures the quiet stillness of childhood. Ben would go on to become one of the leading figures of Modern British art. Here, visitors see him at the very beginning of that story.

Nicholson often used family and friends as sitters as he developed his skills as a portraitist, and he was particularly sensitive when painting children, avoiding sentimentality in favour of simple, characterful observation.

This portrait was likely painted from a photograph – perhaps sparing his young sitter the challenge of a long pose – and was never fully finished. The painting remains with the artist’s family, adding a deeply personal dimension to the exhibition.

One of the most surprising objects in the exhibition isn’t a painting at all, but a dress.

In 1919 Nicholson married Edith ‘Edie’ Stuart Wortley, and this garment was a gift he created especially for her. Before the fabric was sewn into a dress, Nicholson hand-painted the material with a lively pattern of hidden images, symbols and personal messages. 

Look closely and you’ll spot flowers, emblems and inscriptions woven into the design. One message reads: “All this for ESW from WN.” Nearby appears a bouquet symbolising love, and a horseshoe tied with ribbon for luck. At the hem, Nicholson even painted a miniature version of Lady in Grey, thought to depict Edie herself.

Perhaps the most charming detail of all is a small brown paper label attached to a button on the front. It simply reads: “For his Sweetheart.” 

Long before Nicholson became celebrated for his paintings, he first achieved fame through printmaking.

The series An Alphabet, published in 1897 by William Heinemann, pairs each letter with a character, from artists and beggars to countesses, milkmaids and zoologists. Created as hand-coloured woodcuts, the prints are striking for their bold silhouettes, limited palette and distinctive lettering.

The project helped establish Nicholson’s reputation as a graphic designer and illustrator. Their clarity and visual impact would later influence poster design and early 20th century illustration. 

The print A was an Artist even doubles as a playful self-portrait, showing Nicholson working as a pavement artist. Another, B is for Beggar, references the poster-design partnership he formed with his brother-in-law James Pryde under the name J & W Beggarstaff.

Together, the prints reveal the wit and graphic confidence that first brought Nicholson to public attention. 

One of the most intriguing displays in the exhibition brings together art and the object that inspired it.

Shown side by side are two still lifes – The Silver Casket (1919) and The Silver Casket and Red Leather Box (1920) – alongside the very object they depict: a silver tea caddy made around 1780 by the celebrated silversmith Hester Bateman. 

Nicholson admired Bateman’s work deeply, once writing that her silver possessed a “subtle simplicity”. The rounded, polished surface of the tea caddy offered him an irresistible painterly challenge.

In the earlier painting, reflections of gloves and necklaces shimmer across the curved silver. In the later version, Nicholson transforms the composition: the reflective surface captures a window and even a faint distortion of the artist’s own features. The box beneath the caddy heightens the drama of the scene.

Seeing the tea caddy alongside the two paintings offers a rare insight into Nicholson’s process, revealing how a treasured object became the starting point for two remarkable works of art.

With the exhibition about to enter its final month, this is the last chance to explore the remarkable range of William Nicholson’s work, from tender family portraits to bold graphic prints and luminous still lifes.

Plan your visit