Benedict Nicolson (1914-1978), Art historian

Sitter associated with 3 portraits
The longest-serving Editor of the Burlington, from 1947 to 1978, Nicolson was for three decades completely identified with the Magazine's fortunes and reputations. He made it a forum for innovative research in seventeenth-century art, introduced new contributors, particularly recent art-history graduates, and wrote incisive editorials on topical issues. His books include Wright of Derby, Painter of Light , The International Caravaggesque Movement, and studies of Seurat and Courbet. 'Deep silences, infectious laughter and alternating shrewdness and innocence fused in a personality as memorable as his appearance' is how Richard Shone, the present Editor of the Magazine recalls him.