Over the centuries, painters and sculptors have exchanged works with one another, usually as a mark of mutual respect and friendship. Henry Moore and Ben Nicholson did just such a swap early in their careers and it proved to be an even deal between two of the most significant British artists of the last century.
In 1931, Moore handed his close friend an exquisite sculpture of a girl’s head, carved from a block of white alabaster, and Nicholson gave him an enigmatic still-life painting. Each of the pieces had been created by the pioneering artists in 1929, long before their artworks were to change hands for millions of pounds.
