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The Demolition of Devonshire House

Job Nixon (1891-1938)

Price
£1,450
Signed
Signed
Inscribed with title below mount
Signed in plate
Medium
Etching with drypoint
Dimensions
9 ¼ x 14 ½ inches
Literature
Harold Wright, ‘A Chronological List of the Etchings, Drypoints and Engravings of Job Nixon ARE’, The Print Collector’s Quarterly, 1927, vol XIV
Exhibited
'A Century of British Art: 1900-1945', Chris Beetles Gallery, London, 21 June-17 July 2021, no 51;
'The London Show 1750-2025', Chris Beetles Gallery, London, March 2025

The original 17th century home of the Duke of Devonshire, in Piccadilly, was destroyed by fire in 1733. The replacement house was built between 1734-40 to designs by architect William Kent in a Palladian style. The external severity of the style belied the opulent interiors and several large reception rooms and a ballroom were included, reflecting the social change away from public assembly rooms. It was the site of many celebrated events including the lavish Devonshire House Ball in 1897 celebrating Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. During the First World War it was used by the Red Cross but, as a result of social change and the ramifications of death duties, it was sold in 1920 to two industrialists who, in 1924, razed it to the ground and on the site built a hotel and block of flats (now above Green Park Tube station). There was a furore about the demolition and Nixon’s etching marks the passing of an era.

Framed

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