EDINBURGH.- A major painting, which marks a pivotal moment in the career of one of Britain’s most distinguished twentieth-century artists, has been acquired by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art through the Acceptance in Lieu of Tax (AIL) scheme, and is now on public display.

1932 (profile: Venetian red), was painted by Ben Nicholson (1894-1982) in the first year of his relationship with the celebrated sculptor Barbara Hepworth. The painting, a still-life, contains a semi-veiled likeness of his lover, a subtle rendering of her distinctive profile, drawn in pencil over a rectangular area of thinly applied white paint, as if it were a bust or sculptural element in the carefully arranged composition.

The painting is one of a series of major works, including 1932 (Au Chat Botté) and 1932 (Crowned Head the Queen), in which Hepworth’s profile appears, and which mark the moment when recognisably human figures disappear from Nicholson’s work, as he moves towards the abstract painting with which he is most closely associated.

In late 1932, when 1932 (profile: Venetian red) was painted, Nicholson was sharing a tiny studio with Hepworth in Hampstead in London. They first met in 1931, and by the following March had begun the affair that ended both of their marriages. Living in such close proximity – their studio measured 25 x 20 foot – it is no surprise that Hepworth’s features found their way into his work. Nicholson’s pencil-drawn profile of his lover contains, locked within it, another profile, looking in the opposite direction and slightly upwards, as if the two heads are kissing.

The change of direction marked by 1932 (profile: Venetian red) not only reflects Nicholson’s new friendship with Hepworth and Henry Moore (both sculptors) but also his close contact with some of the leading modernist artists based in Paris (Arp, Giacometti, Brancusi and Miró), where he had stayed for four months.

By the end of 1933 Nicholson had entirely abandoned his faux-naïve style of the 1920s, and his subsequent interest in Picasso and Braque’s cubism, and become an abstract artist.

1932 (profile: Venetian red) was probably acquired directly from Nicholson by the artist’s friend, Jim Ede, the creator of Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge University’s gallery of modern art. Ede gifted the painting to his daughter Elisabeth and her husband Harold Swan on their wedding in December 1951. Both had studied medicine in Edinburgh, and following their retirement in 1984 they settled back in the city. They enjoyed close links with the SNGMA and in 2010, placed 1932 (profile: Venetian red) on permanent loan there.

The Gallery has an excellent collection of Nicholson’s work, much of it bequeathed by his third wife, Felicitas Vogler, and dating from the latter part of his career. The collection includes early work such as 1928 (Walton Wood Cottage, No. 1), but there is a seven-year gap to the utterly different 1935 (White Relief). 1932 (profile: Venetian red) acts as a bridge between the two.

Poignantly, the Gallery also owns Jake and Kate on the Isle of Wight by Nicholson’s first wife Winifred Nicholson, which was probably painted at Christmas 1931, when she and their three children moved to the island for a few months, once separation between Ben and Winifred looked likely. The painting shows their children, Jake and Kate, but not Andrew, who was born in July and was just a few months old. By March 1932 Ben and Barbara were living together; by the autumn the Nicholsons’ marriage was over.

The Gallery also owns Hepworth’s Dyad, an exceptionally unusual work in her oeuvre in its figurative reference: an incised profile, similar to the one in Nicholson’s painting and surely a self-portrait, is on one side, and another, almost certainly Nicholson’s is on the other, as if they were embracing.

Speaking of the acquisition, Simon Groom, Director of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, said: “We are delighted that this beautiful and important painting now joins the national collection. It will form a fitting tribute to Harold and Elisabeth Swan’s love of art and above all their desire to share that passion with the public at large. We are deeply grateful to the family for their great generosity, as well as to the Scottish Government. “

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop added: “Scotland has world-class galleries that we should rightly be proud of and Ben Nicholson’s 1932 (profile: Venetian red) is a distinguished addition to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. The AIL scheme is a fantastic system that allows galleries and museums to acquire important pieces for the public to enjoy, and I look forward to seeing 1932 (profile: Venetian red) in its new permanent home in Scotland.”

Edward Harley, Chairman of the Acceptance in Lieu panel, commented further: “The Acceptance in Lieu Scheme continues to enrich museums and galleries throughout the country and this important example of the work of one of Britain’s most original artists of the 20th century finds an ideal permanent home in the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. The Gallery’s collection which is of international importance will now be able to demonstrate in depth the work of Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth and show how they influenced and inspired so many artists throughout the 20th century.”