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.
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$1,396Sale Price|20% Off
David Hicks Signed Victorian Scottish Highland Loch Mountain Oil Painting
By David Hicks
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title David Hicks Signed Victorian Scottish Highland Loch Mountain Oil Painting Key Details Artist: David Hicks, British, late 19th century, signed Title: The Scottish Highlands Medi...
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
$2,800
H 18 in W 24 in D 1 in
Darling, Oil, Acrylic, Sailboat, Textured, Water, Beach House, Blue, Sailing
By Jason Wright
Located in Riverdale, NY
Darling by artist Jason Wright is a textured oil and acrylic painting on wood panel. It is 18x24, framed. This sailboat image is richly layered and created with a palette knife. J...
Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
$4,100
H 24 in W 40 in D 1 in
View from the Train: Cityscape Oil Painting, View of Brooklyn
By Patty Neal
Located in Hudson, NY
View from the Train, 2019 24" X 40" x 1", oil on canvas This contemporary oil painting depicting a metropolitan view is the work of realist painter Patty Neal. The painting offers an intimate view of the city, as seen from a window, as it peeks from behind two metal structures. The dark browns and bright golds beautifully compliment the dusty blue, gray sky. Neal works highlight everyday city scenes, utilitarian infrastructure, and industrial or electrical apparatus. Artist statement: A life is an accumulation of experiences: visual, emotional and mental. By compartmentalizing these snippets of life we create boundaries. The focus of my work for many years has been the exploration of these various life aspects and how they are bound together or bound from each other. My process is often literally composed of boundaries. I make a painting by putting together multiple panels, or I segment a single panel into separate visual spaces. The works are made up of pieces or elements of city and landscape. While exploring the concepts of boundaries I play with visual “reality.” Sometimes I combine images that are upside down with those that are not and juxtapose images from different contexts. Literal boundaries, such as walls fences, expanses of water and highway median strips are also used. My intent is to invite viewers to look beyond these boundaries to see the possibilities of a connected whole. About the artist: Solo Exhibitions 2011 "Interior/Exterior", Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, New York 2008 ”Landscape Revisited”, 1870 Gallery, Belmont 2005 Nomad Rug Gallery, San Francisco 2004 "Landscapes"@Klein's, San Francisco 2004 "Landscape Renewed," Space 743, San Francisco 2003 Exploding Head...
Oil, Wood Panel
$6,950
H 19 in W 22 in
19th century English still life of Strawberries in a landscape with butterfly
By Henry George Todd
Located in Woodbury, CT
Henry George Todd (British, fl. late 19th century) Still Life of Strawberries with Butterfly Signed and dated 1878, lower left Oil on canvas Presented in an ornate giltwood frame wit...
Canvas, Oil
$1,361
H 9.44 in W 7.08 in
Vincent Clare still life Oil Painting of Flowers and Nest, Victorian art
By Vincent Clare
Located in PARIS, FR
Conditions : Excellent overall Condition. Framed under glass original. Complementary shipping worlwide by DHL, FEDEX. Returning customers : 25% OFF listed price on all Belfort SAS ca...
Oil
$2,950
H 16 in W 16 in D 2 in
Fortune Favors the Bold by Ginny Williams Still Life Oil Paintig, Black
By Ginny Williams
Located in Atlanta, GA
Fortune Favors the Bold by Ginny Williams is an intimate contemporary still life painted in oil on panel, measuring 16 x 16 inches. This original artwork pairs vibrant florals with g...
Oil, Panel
$25,000
H 32 in W 37 in D 1.75 in
"Afternoon Picnic" Outdoor Still Life American Impressionist Oil Painting Framed
By Martha Walter
Located in New York, NY
A vibrant impressionistic still life depiction by Martha Walter of a wonderful summer scene by a picnic table. A turquoise bowl, a glass bottle, a drinking glass, cups, a cola bottle...
Canvas, Oil, Board
$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
$8,500
H 24 in W 40 in D 6 in
Oakland, the estate of Theophilus Cushing Hersey in Portland, Maine
By Harrison Bird Brown
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
Harrison Bird Brown (1831-1915) "Oakland," the estate of Theophilus Cushing Hersey in Portland, Maine" Unsigned 24 x 40 inches (Sight Size) 35 x 52 inches (Frame Size) Oil on canvas ...
Canvas, Oil, ABS
$6,847
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
$2,430
H 10 in W 12 in
19th century English still life of fruit on a mossy bank landscape
By Vincent Clare
Located in Woodbury, CT
Vincent Clare (British, 1855–1930) Still Life of Fruit on a Mossy Bank Oil on canvas, signed lower right Circa 1870 Presented in a richly carved and gilded 19th-century style frame ...
Canvas, Oil
The Edge of the Seine
Located in Sheffield, MA
Albert Marie Lebourg French, 1849-1928 The Edge of the Seine Oil on canvas 18 ¼ by 30 ¼ in, w/ frame 26 ¾ by 38 in Signed lower left Inventory Number: 01549 Lebourg was close frie...
Canvas, Oil
Norwegian Fjord
Located in Sheffield, MA
Adelsteen Normann Norway, 1848–1918 Norwegian Fjord Oil on canvas 31 ¼ by 41 ½ in, w/ frame 37 ⅛ by 47 ⅜ in Signed lower right Inventory Number: 01...
Canvas, Oil
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