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Lot 499
Nicolas Ghika (1906-1994)
The Assault
Closed22 June 2011
Price Realised
GBP 61,250
More Information
Specialist note
Nicholas Pestalis-Diomidis has confirmed the authenticity of this painting.
The Assault comes from the collection of Lady Noel E. Norton (1891-1972), a British collector and art dealer who usually went by the nickname of 'Peter' Norton. From 1946 to 1951, her husband Sir Clifford Norton was the British ambassador in Athens, and there Lady Norton formed a close and lasting friendship with Ghika; their correspondence can be found in the Tate Britain archive. Peter Norton was by that stage a well-established and passionate art collector. In 1936 she had opened the first modern art gallery in London (called The London Gallery, in Cork Street), helped by Roland Penrose. There she exhibited works by Klee, Kandinsky, Leger, Magritte, Ernst, and Moore, amongst others. During World War Two, her husband's diplomatic career took her away from London, so she handed the gallery over to E.L.T. Mesens. But she continued to support, collect and encourage artists all her life, and during her later years in Greece, she particularly championed Ghika's work, and they became great friends. She bought a number of his paintings for her collection, which have remained in her family since her death.
The Assault comes from the collection of Lady Noel E. Norton (1891-1972), a British collector and art dealer who usually went by the nickname of 'Peter' Norton. From 1946 to 1951, her husband Sir Clifford Norton was the British ambassador in Athens, and there Lady Norton formed a close and lasting friendship with Ghika; their correspondence can be found in the Tate Britain archive. Peter Norton was by that stage a well-established and passionate art collector. In 1936 she had opened the first modern art gallery in London (called The London Gallery, in Cork Street), helped by Roland Penrose. There she exhibited works by Klee, Kandinsky, Leger, Magritte, Ernst, and Moore, amongst others. During World War Two, her husband's diplomatic career took her away from London, so she handed the gallery over to E.L.T. Mesens. But she continued to support, collect and encourage artists all her life, and during her later years in Greece, she particularly championed Ghika's work, and they became great friends. She bought a number of his paintings for her collection, which have remained in her family since her death.