Let there be no doubt about it, suave as he was, with his bespoke suits, slicked-back hair and patrician good looks, David Nightingale Hicks (1929–98) was a committed revolutionary. Composing rooms of arresting opulence through his magisterial orchestration of cacophonous colors and patterns, Italian modern mixed with Louis XV furnishings and counterintuitive plays of scale, he forever rocked the stately world of interior design.
As a zealot of style, he took no prisoners. “Dedication to design means ruthless criticism and losing friends,” he once declared. He was not exaggerating. His wife claimed that he conceived his signature high-gloss brown walls as a result of her throwing glasses of Coca-Cola at him during their alarmingly frequent marital spats.
By the time he was 25, Hicks, who had attended London’s Central School of Art and Design and endured a couple of arid years in the art department of the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson, had the crème de la crème of London society as clients — and he was being entertained by them! Within a few years, he was courting Lady Pamela Mountbatten, the daughter of Lord Mountbatten, the last British viceroy of India, and the uncle of Prince Phillip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband. They married in 1960 and acquired Britwell, a Georgian pile in Oxfordshire, which became the family seat, design lab and showplace.
The first truly modern interior Hicks ever designed was Lord John Cholmondeley’s penthouse overlooking Hyde Park, in 1967. The graphic boldness of the scheme — brightly colored walls outlined in dark hues and dynamic geometric-patterned carpets — echoed the energy and attitude of the hard-edge painting that was then at the fore. Here, as in all his interiors, he included what he called “tablescapes,” vignettes of artfully arranged objects and artworks that added interest and life to the room. They were soon widely copied. Another landmark interior came in the early 1970s, when he revived Baronscourt, a grand neoclassical house in Northern Ireland, by giving it an entirely contemporary decor.
In addition to his immense creative talent, Hicks had a keen entrepreneurial acumen and vision. While he could have made a fine business simply designing grand homes for the wealthy and titled, he expanded his studio to include offices, boutiques, restaurants, hotels and nightclubs. He had showrooms all over the world, and he embarked on licensing agreements for ranges of vividly hued, geometric-patterned sheets and towels, clothes, umbrellas and bags.
The British designer was as daring as he was debonair, deploying a brazen mix of colors and patterns that came to define the groovy-glamorous interiors of the Swinging Sixties.
Find David Hicks furniture on 1stDibs.
$1,413Sale Price|20% Off
Fine Victorian Scottish Loch Scene with Mountains, Signed Antique Oil Painting
By David Hicks
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: David Hicks, British late 19th century, signed Title: The Scottish Highlands Medium: signed oil painting on canvas, oak wood framed Size: framed: 27.5 x 23.5 inch...
Oil
"Fishing"
By David Hicks
Located in Warren, NJ
Oil painting on canvas measures 28x25x2 signed in good condition Comes on with light International buyers must cover shipping expense
Canvas
"David Hicks On... Bathrooms, Decoration With Fabrics, And Decoration- 5" w/ DH
By David Hicks
Located in Bristol, CT
(1) David Hicks on Decoration- 5 [168] pp. Britwell Books 1972 (2) David Hicks on Decoration- With Fabrics World Publishing 1971 (3) David Hicks on Bathrooms [151] pp. Britwell Boo...
Paper
$867Sale Price|20% Off
H 7.13 in W 5.52 in
Flemish Old Master, Study of Donkey Carriage, 17th Century, Sanguine Drawing
Located in Greven, DE
This drawing shows several studies of a donkey with a carriage. Its style is close to Flemish 17th century artists. On the passepartout one reads "Mathias Scheyer/ Jacob Weyer", both...
Chalk, Handmade Paper
$2,100Sale Price|71% Off
H 36 in W 48 in D 0.875 in
"Dancer's Dream" Large Original Oil Painting by Robert White, Frameless Display
Located in Encino, CA
“Dancer's Dream,” an original oil on canvas by Robert K. White, is a piece for the true collector. White’s careful attention to detail and vivid use of greens, browns, and whites project from the painting, immediately capturing the viewer's attention and highlighting the artist's keen ability to capture emotion and life - all in a brushstroke. White's talent for depicting light and shadow provides the foundation for him to deliver subjects and scenes to the viewer's eye. This masterful work would make a great addition to an art collection and enhance most any home, perfect for those who have an affinity for dancers, the ballet, portraits, and color-rich works of art. In the artist’s own words, “I don’t paint what is inside of me; I paint what I see outside of me. I’m an observer. If I see something and I feel an affinity for it, something just clicks in my head. I’ll make the decision right then and there to paint that particular subject during that particular moment. It’s a perfect moment. Once something has caught my eye and I’ve heard the “perfect” click, it’s like a photograph has been taken in my mind’s eye. I only have a few days of clarity with that image. I have to start the painting quickly or else it will be gone and I will lose that image forever.” Artist: ROBERT KENNETH WHITE...
Oil, Canvas
Moonlight and Mist
By Eliot Clark
Located in Greenville, DE
New York City artist Eliot Candee Clark was well known for his impressionist landscapes. He was the son of painter Walter Clark. Many of his paintin...
Canvas, Oil
Ballerina at the Barre (Poster with photography by Harvey Edwards)
Located in Chesterfield, MI
Ballerinas and those that own dance schools would appreciate this beautiful poster with a photograph by Harvey Edwards of a ballerina at the barre. It has been tastefully framed wit...
Paper
$3,500Sale Price|29% Off
H 16 in W 14 in
Victorian still lives of fruit and Plums on a mossy bank landscape
By Oliver Clare
Located in Woodbury, CT
This exquisite painting by renowned Victorian English artist Oliver Clare beautifully captures a vibrant still life of fruit on a mossy bank. The composition is a testament to Clar...
Canvas, Oil
"Cloud Composition 4" Original Realist Skyscape with Clouds
Located in Denver, CO
"Cloud Composition 4" is a realistic capturing of a golden skyscape, created with oil paint on panel. This piece is framed at 9.5 x 9.5 inches and is ready to hang. Jesse Mangerson ...
Oil, Panel
Hunt Slonem "Trojan Two" Metallic Birds
By Hunt Slonem
Located in Houston, TX
Hunt Slonem "Trojan Two" Metallic Birds Quetzal and Trogon Birds gestured in red, green, yellow and purple on a white background with gold and silver. Unframed Hunt Slonem is a well...
Canvas, Oil
$6,926
H 27 in W 31 in D 3 in
Still Life of Flowers, Victorian Oil on Canvas, Framed, Signed Henry Livens 1890
By Henry Livens
Located in St. Albans, GB
Henry John Livens An antique painting. Framed oil on canvas. Signed by the artist Canvas Size: 20 x 24" (51 x 61cm) Framed Size: 27 x 31" (37 x 77cm) This stunning British Victorian...
Oil
$1,715Sale Price|20% Off
H 31.5 in W 23.63 in
"Nude I&II" - limited edition finest quality - color photograph - set of two
By Ksenia Kokovashina
Located in Winterswijk, NL
Kseniia Kokovashina - "Nude I&II" set of two. Beautiful limited edition art photography. Printable in colour or black/white. Editions: 20. Tec...
Photographic Paper
$8,585Sale Price|25% Off
H 51.19 in W 33.47 in D 1.19 in
Venice Landscape Italian Oil on Canvas Painting in Gilt Wood Frame, Belle Epoque
Located in Firenze, IT
This delightful turn of the century (early 20th century) oil on canvas painting represents an Italian landscape with one of the most famous squares in the world: Piazza San Marco in ...
Canvas, Oil
$4,837Sale Price|25% Off
H 25 in W 29 in
Victorian antique English still life of flowers, birds nest, eggs in a garden
By Henry John Livens
Located in Woodbury, CT
Henry John Livens was born in 1858, in St Pancras, London the direct descendant of Jan Liebens who had left his native Holland in the 1600’s to paint a portrait of the King and subse...
Canvas, Oil
$120Sale Price|20% Off
H 27.56 in W 35.44 in
Gerhard Richter - "Abstract Picture" - unique art print on heavy paper
By Gerhard Richter
Located in Winterswijk, NL
Art print on heavy paper. After the original from 1977. A beautiful artwork that looks good in every room and especially in the living room or bedroom. Can be framed accordingly. ...
Paper, Offset
Sold
H 26.25 in W 8.25 in
Fine Antique Scottish Highland Loch & Mountains Landscape, Signed Oil Painting
By David Hicks
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: David Hicks, British late 19th century, signed Title: The Scottish Highlands Medium: signed oil painting on canvas, oak wood framed Size: framed: 27.5 x 23.5 inch...
Oil