The Grange, Rottingdean

Born in Edinburgh, in 1871, Pryde came from a family of Scottish artists, which included her brother, James. She studied at Herkomer’s Art School in Hertfordshire, where she met William Nicholson, whom she married in 1893.

Pryde put her career on hold until after the birth of her youngest child, Kit, in 1904. In 1909, the family moved into The Grange in Rottingdean, where she had her most productive years before leaving the house in 1914. She exhibited successfully during this period, with her work included in shows at the Goupil Gallery, the New English Art Club and the Chenil Gallery.

The composition of The Grange, Rottingdean reveals Pryde’s interest in 17th-century depictions of Dutch interiors. The two of the artist’s four children shown in the picture are Nancy and. Kit. Nancy later became a textile designer, and Kit an architect. Pryde’s eldest son, Ben Nicholson, became the celebrated Modernist painter.

Pryde, whose work is extremely rare, died at the age of 47, in 1918, during the ‘Spanish flu’ epidemic. The Grange, Rottingdean passed down through her family and has been on long-term loan to National Galleries of Scotland. It now joins the permanent collection and is on display at National (formerly the Scottish National Gallery), in Edinburgh.