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
$11,000
H 31.5 in W 37.4 in
"After Dinner" nocturne impressionist romantic still life, pink roses, Florence
By Amy Florence
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"After Dinner" is a nocturne impressionist romantic still life, pink roses, in Florence, Italy. Amy Florence creates a scene reminiscent of the impressionists who painted in Paris in...
Canvas, Oil
$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
$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
$9,750
H 31 in W 37 in D 2 in
Antique American Impressionist Masterful Rhododendron Flower Still Life Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American impressionist flower still life landscape oil painting by Frank Convers Mathewson (1862 - 1941). Oil on board. Framed. Signed and dated. Measuring: 31 by 37 inche...
Oil, Board
$1,353
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
$2,430
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
$2,250Sale Price|25% Off
H 31.5 in W 51.19 in
#27, 80x130 cm, acrylic, pastel, canvas
By Evdokimova Maria
Located in Yerevan, AM
#27, 80x130 cm, acrylic, pastel, canvas
Canvas, Oil Pastel, Acrylic
$2,500
H 31.5 in W 37.25 in
"Open Landscape" Contemporary Realistic East Texas Nature Landscape Painting
By Jerry Greenberg
Located in Houston, TX
Contemporary realistic Texas landscape nature painting by Houston based artist Jerry Greenberg. The work features a pair of trees casting shadows in an open field. Signed in the front lower right corner as well as titled on the reverse. Currently hung in a gold frame. Dimensions Without Frame: H 24 in. x W 30 in. Artist Biography: I have a deep appreciation for nature. In my work I seek to convey the landscape as I experience it emotionally as well as visually. I travel frequently throughout the United States and Europe in search of new landscapes. Some of my favorite subjects include rivers and creeks in the Texas hill country; aspen trees in the Rocky Mountains; ponds in New England; and lush rolling hills in the English countryside. My influences include French and Russian Impressionists and early California landscape...
Oil
$514
H 12.6 in W 12.6 in D 0.79 in
The red coat, Original painting, Landscape, Nature, People, Men, Women, Walking
By Eleanor Woolley
Located in Deddington, GB
The red coat is an Original painting by Eleanor Woolley. This painting is a stylised semi abstract painting inspired by people in landscape. Long shadows are cast from the naively painted figures bodies. There is a muted palette of greys, blues and ochers, with a touch of red in the ladies coat. Painted in the Artist's studio this is an atmospheric piece typical of Eleanor's figurative work. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Oil Paint on Canvas 32 H x 32 W x 3 D cm (12.60 x 12.60 x 1.18 in) Sold framed Image size: Height: 32cm (12.60 in) Width: 32cm (12.60 in) Complete size of unframed painting Height: 30cm (11.81 in) Width: 30cm (11.81 in) Depth: 2cm (0.79 in) Framed Size: Height: 32cm (12.60 in) Width: 32cm (12.60 in) Depth: 3cm (1.18 in) ARTIST BIOGRAPHY: Discover more original artworks by Eleanor Woolley. Eleanor Woolley was born in the Channel Island of Jersey, and moved to Gloucestershire where she was drawn to the outdoors, always taking walks in the landscape. Her first true love for painting came from an inspirational Art...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
"Peach Tree"
By Evgeny Chernyakovsky
Located in Edinburgh, GB
This painting is filled with light, richness, and a sense of nature in its prime. The canvas depicts a peach tree branch laden with ripe fruit. Large, sun-drenched peaches seem to gl...
Canvas, Oil
"Return of the Buckaroo" Rodeo Cowboy Scene
Located in Austin, TX
By M.A. Bhatti 20" x 16" Oil on Canvas Framed Size: 22.5" x 18.5" This serene and regal painting depicts a cowboy on horseback facing away from the vi...
Canvas, Oil
$6,862
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
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