The story of the creative relationship between the artists Piet Mondrian and Ben Nicholson is largely untold. Yet during the 1930's they were leading forces of avant-garde art in Europe. They first met in Paris in 1933, quickly becoming friends. Mondrian's two-year visit to London where he had a studio just above Nicholson's and joined a community of artists that included Gabo, Moore and Nash was seen as a sign that it was now an important centre for the avant-garde. This book accompanies an exhibition at The Courtauld Gallery, London, 16 February 20 May 2012, that will be the first to offer a comprehensive account of the parallel artistic paths charted by Mondrian and Nicholson durings this remarkable decade. It will bring together an extraordinary group of paintings and reliefs to show how each artist was driven by a profound belief in the potential of abstract art to attain the highest aesthetic and spiritual power. ILLUSTRATIONS: 100 colour