Following is an exhibition review by Kathryn Hughes.

"William Nicholson: British Painter and Printmaker at the Royal Academy, London W1, from October 30 until January 23, 2004"

The artist William Nicholson liked to give the impression of living and working outside history. Freezing his appearance in the dandified 1890s of his youth, his steady stream of landscapes, still lifes and portraits refused to fit into any of the grand narratives of early 20th-century art. While critics agreed - and continue to agree - that much of his work was fresh and even beautiful, they were disconcerted by the way it appeared to spring from a world that had not registered the presence of fauves and cubists, surrealists and constructivists.
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