CHRISTOPHER WOOD (1901-1930)
MODERN BRITISH (20th Century ) Biography

Exhibition History

Chichester, The Tudor Room, The Bishop's Palace, All for Love, Aspects of Love in the art of more than 200 years, Festival Exhibition, July 1994, number 59

Description / Expertise

Despite the apparent naivety of much of his work, Christopher Wood's approach to painting is very much in the classical mode. The artist had spent much of his time abroad, since leaving England for Paris in 1921, where he had been introduced to many artists including Picasso and Jean Cocteau. It was these two in particular who held an economy of line in their drawings, which Wood greatly admired.

In March 1928, Christopher Wood had gone to stay with Ben and Winifred Nicholson in Cumberland and was to spend much of that year in England. During this time he used several different models for drawing from life. The present work is representative of the period directly preceding the artists `discovery' of Alfred Wallis with Ben Nicholson in August of 1928. Wood's later drawings become much looser and more naive in their perception.