William Nicholson

1 portrait by Malcolm Arbuthnot

© estate of Malcolm Arbuthnot

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William Nicholson

by William Nicholson, after Malcolm Arbuthnot
woodcut, (1912)
4 1/4 in. x 3 1/4 in. (110 mm x 83 mm)
Given by A. Christian, 1991
Reference Collection
NPG D695

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  • Rideal, Liz, Insights: Self-portraits, 2005, p. 88 Read entry

    From 1894 to 1895 Nicholson worked with his brother-in-law, James Pryde, as the print partnership J. & W. Beggarstaff. After this business collapsed he continued to work in the print medium for the publisher William Heinemann. This is one of two woodcut self-portraits; the other, A was an Artist, is from Alphabet (1898). Always a dandy, Nicholson based this print on an elegant portrait by a society photographer.

Events of 1912back to top

Current affairs

The Royal Flying Corps is established. During the Great War, planes and balloons were used mainly for reconnaissance and observation before technological advances made them fast enough and manoeuvrable enough to attack enemy positions and fight in the air. Arthur (Bomber) Harris won distinction as a pilot destroying five enemy aircraft in the war. In the Second World War he became Marshal of the Royal Air Force.

Art and science

George Bernard Shaw writes Pygmalion.
Charles Babbage's invents the Analytic Machine. Considered to be the forerunner to the modern computer, the machine was able to make automatic mathematical calculations.

International

Scott leads the British Expedition to the South Pole reaching it in January 1912 only to discover that the rival Norwegian party had beaten them by a month. All members of Scott's team perished on the return journey. Captain Oates' famous last words were immortalised in Scott's diary: 'I am just going outside and may be some time.'
The 'unsinkable' Titanic strikes an iceberg and goes down on its maiden journey between Southampton and New York.

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