Dale Nichols -Transcending Regionalism

Dale Nichols- John Comes Home for Christmas- 1937- oil on canvas

A week or so two ago I received a wonderful surprise in the mail in the form of a book sent to me by good friend and fellow artist DonWeller and his wife Cha Cha. Dale Nichols: Transcending Regionalism is a rare treat which I have been devouring since its arrival.

Dale Nichols, though much less well known than the other "Big Three" Regionalist artists, Grant Wood, John Stuart Curry and Thomas Hart Benton, he is no less worthy of recognition. I had previously only known his work from a single postcard (top image) that I purchased at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.

While the Sun Shines-1936, 33" x 43" oil on canvas

The book is more than merely an exhibit catalog for the show of the same name  which opened at the Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art in David City, Nebraska, it is more of a true monograph. The exhibitions is currently on display at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Montgomery, Alabama through June 10, 2012.

Dale Nichols could arguably be considered the fourth significant name included in any discussion of Regionalist American art. A native son of David City, Nebraska where he was born in July 13, 1904, Nichols studied briefly at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts before forging a successful career in illustration.

Woman's Day cover- 1947

Saturday Evening Post cover- 1941

After a ten year career in commercial work, Nichols abruptly changed gears and began a gallery career creating iconic farmscapes that were rooted to his Nebraska youth, but he never fully abandoned illustration. Though he was very prolific, Nichols never achieved the notoriety of his Regionalist cohorts, probably because his career began in earnest about a decade behind his Regionalist peers.

After the Blizzard- 1945, 30" x 40", oil on canvas

Had the Regionalist wave lasted a few years longer, Nichols would likely have been a household name along with that of American Gothic painter Grant Wood. Dale Nichols did not apologize for his nostalgic sensibilities. "I possess a profound belief that art reaches its maximum importance when it inspires those with whom it comes in contact" he explained.

Evening in the Foothills- 1940, Oil on canvas

Of his preferred subjects, he believed that in order to paint something authentically you must live it. "I paint barns and rural life, not because it may have been or is in vogue, but because my twenty years as a farmer provide me with an essential and intimate knowledge of my subject matter".

Big City News- 1940, 40" x 40", Oil on canvas

Arizona Twilight

 Nichols travels led him to live and work in places such as Alaska, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arizona and even Guatemala where he painted what he experienced. His fascination with ancient Mayan cultures even led him to be considered somewhat of an expert in that field. Dale Nichols died in Sedona, Arizona on October 19, 1995  at the age of 91.

Putting Up Ice- 1945

Platte Valley Summer- 1969, 30" x 40' oil on canvas

Nichols' paintings are in a number of museums including the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Dale Nichols- Transcending Regionalism is the first ever printed collection of the artist's work and hopefully will help set his rightful place in the Regionalist realm alongside Benton, Wood and Curry.

Buy Dale Nichols- Transcending Regionalism here

Tom and Jack

Ballad of the Jealous Lover of Lone Green Valley

by Thomas Hart Benton

Here Jackson Pollock modeled for the harmonica player.

The Pollock we are all familiar with

Benton created abstract works throughout his career

including this one called "Organization" from 1944.

Pollock's "Moon Woman Cuts the Circle"- circa 1944 is surprisingly

similar to Benton's above work from the same time.

I have recently been reading a book that details the connection between one of my favorite artists Thomas Hart Benton and his most famous student Jackson Pollock. Jackson Pollock? Are you serious? That was my reaction as well since in all my readings on Benton, I can't recall ever realizing that Pollock was his student. The author of "Tom and Jack - The Intertwined Lives of Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock" , Henry Adams lays out a compelling story detailing the development of both artists and how they became connected to and influenced by one another (especially Pollock). Few people know that for a period of several years in the mid to late 1930's Pollock was a student of Benton and for a time lived with, vacationed with and even baby sat the Benton children. The main artistic principles that seem to have influenced both artists are the ideas of a mostly forgotten art style called Synchomism that had a brief life within the abstract expressionist movement in the early twentieth century It's theories were based heavily in color relationships and the idea that true art must be purely non-representational.. The book has been enlightening and has helped me to better understand both Benton the most acclaimed American muralist and Pollock, arguably the most famous American artist in history (or at least the highest priced - a Pollock recently was auctioned for 140 million US$ ) .