DALE WILLIAM NICHOLS (1904–1995)

AN ANALYSIS OF THE ARTIST'S WORK

“The old swimming hole; the warm dusty road we trod barefoot; the thrills of Halloween; snow battles and kid parties. It is perhaps as a subconscious yearning for a return to these happy days that I, after ten years of fighting for a place among the designers of Chicago, have turned to painting farms and the countryside.” – Dale William Nichols

Dale William Nichols was a Rural Regionalist painter who focused his art on the subject of farm life. He found his inspiration in his experiences as a youth growing up on a farm in America. In the 1930s, the search for a pure form of American art was growing, and the amount of public interest in the American art world grew tremendously (American Scene). This was when Nichols entered the art world, at the boom of the American Scene movement. The American Scene movement consisted of Regionalist artists as well as Rural Regionalist artists. The Regionalists tended to focus on city life, however both groups focused on life in America. They also denounced modernism, and Nichols was strongly opposed to the modernist movement.

Nichols can best be described as a Rural Regionalist. The University of Minnesota book, The American Scene, acknowledges, “The Rural Regionalists wished to save an American type that was quickly passing from the scene, the rustic American farmer. They also spent a great deal of their time documenting the rural or farm landscape and the small town resident” (10). The majority of Nichols’ art reflected this need to preserve the American farmer through his depiction of rural life. His farm scenes often depicted the isolation of farm life, and the excitement that rare social occasions brought to the farm (“Dale Nichols 1904-1995”). Nichols stated, “Before the advent of World War I, the radio and the hard road, country people, particularly those of the Middle West, lived more of less isolated lives. Therefore, company for supper was an exciting event, usually held on Sunday evenings. For the children these evenings meant hilarious fun; the building of chair and blanket houses; of games like hide-and-go-seek. For the grown-ups these were evenings of feasting upon fried chicken and gossip, both of which were highly spiced” (Pagano). This feeling of farm life, isolation, and American values could be found in all of Nichols’ art. Company for Supper was painted in 1948, and portrayed the isolated farm anticipating the excitement that came from company. Stylistically, the red barn and farmhouse were used throughout Nichols’ paintings, with the actual figures in the composition barely visible. The large, booming landscapes dominated Nichols’ art, and are the subject of the composition.

Nichols stated, “I feel that an artist paints best what he has been exposed to during his youth. I think my memory paintings of my home state may be my only creations that I sign with full confidence” (“Dale Nichols”). The Nebraska landscapes that Nichols painted in watercolor came from his memories as a child on his father’s farm. He worked in watercolor, oils, and pen and ink; Nichols was adept at all mediums. He also sketched his art in nature, but took it back to the studio to finish, placing his own psychology into the composition (Zellman).

Nichols used numerology, magic squares and psychic symbols in the majority of his work (Zellman). Nichols refused to paint any other way but his own style, regardless of what critics said. His art was shown in the New York World Fair in 1939, confirming his status as one of the great Midwest and Regionalist painters.

Nichols’ art from Alaska, Arizona and Guatemala are similar to his farm landscapes; the landscape dominates the composition in both. Nichols painted desert scenes, native people and the untouched landscapes of these locations. The simplicity behind the composition and the minimal use of human figures engages the viewer into the scene. Nichols often worked in watercolors, bringing a softness to his art. His art was celebrated for its American ideals and portrayal of rural American life as well as the aesthetic beauty found in it. Nichols had a successful art career, exhibiting in over eighty regional and national shows. When stated that Dale Nichols put Nebraska on the map he replied, “Dale Nichols did not put Nebraska on the map; Nebraska put Dale Nichols on the map” (“Dale Nichols”).

AWARDS

1935 Art Institute of Chicago, Hearst Award for “The End of the Hunt”
1939 Art Institute of Chicago, Watson F. Blair purchase prize for “The Cold Wave”

American Artists Professional League
Brownsville Art League
Chicago Guild Free Lance Artists
Grand Central Galleries
Society of Typographic Artists
Tucson Archaeological Society

COLLECTIONS

Art Institute of Chicago, IL
Butler Institute of American Art, OH
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, CA
Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, MN
Georgia Museum of Art
Great Plains Art Museum, NE
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, MN
Museum of Nebraska Art
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, NE
The Arkansas Art Center
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, MO
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

CHRONOLOGY

1904 Born in David City, Nebraska
1908 His mother notices his talent at drawing
1924 Studies at Chicago Academy of Fine Arts
1930s-1940s Creates artwork for direct-mail industrial advertising
1935 A Philosophy of Esthetics is published, written by Nichols
1939 Serves as Carnegie Professor of Art at the University of Illinois
1940 The American Artist Group releases a set of Christmas Cards with his art included
1940 Illustrates A World History
1941 Illustrates Two Years Before the Mast, written by Richard Henry Dana
1941 Metropolitan Museum of Art buys “End of the Hunt”
1941 Designs The National Tuberculosis Association’s Christmas seal
1942-1948 Works as Art Editor of the Encyclopedia Britannica
1943-1945 Works as art chairman of the Tucson Regional Plan
1948 Establishes the Artist School in Tubac, Arizona
1948 Restores some of the old buildings in the community of Tubac, Arizona
1950s Lives in Tucson, Arizona
1957 Figure Drawing is published, written by Nichols
1960s Moves to Guatemala and switches from oils to watercolors
1995 Dies in Sedona, Arizona

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.American Scene: Urban and Rural Regionalists of the 30s and 40s. Minneapolis: Minnesota University, University Gallery, 1976.
2."Dale Nichols." MONA. Museum of Nebraska Art. 16 Apr. 2008 .
3."Dale Nichols 1904-1995." Keith Sheridan Fine Prints. 18 June 2008 .
4."Dale William Nichols." AskArt. 16 May 2008 .
5.Pagano, Grace. "Dale Nichols." Contemporary American Painting; the Encyclopedia Britannica Collection.
6."Santa Cruz County: Communities." Arizona. 18 June 2008 .
7. Zellman, Michael David. American Art Analog. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.