This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  Artist, printmaker, illustrator, watercolorist, designer, writer and
lecturer, Dale Nichols did paintings that reflected his rural
background of Nebraska where he was born in David City, a small
town. Although he did much sketching outdoors, most of his
paintings were completed in his studio and often included "numerology,
magic squares and psychic symbols." (Zellman 912) His painting The End of the Hunt (undated) won the Hearst Award at a 1930s exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago.
In the 1960s, he traveled to Guatemala where he was much impressed by
the lushness of the landscape and the Spanish and Mayan's culture.
These interests were also reflected in his artwork.
As a commercial artist, Nichols was an advocate of upgrading the
quality of art in illustration and advertising. In 1935, his book
elaborating his theories of art, A Philosphy of Esthetics, was published, and in 1957, he completed his book Figure Drawing, published by Watson-Guptill.
Nichols, succeeding Iowa artist Grant Wood, was art editor of the Encyclopedia Britannica
from 1942 to 1948, and in 1930-40, served as Carnegie visiting
professor to the University of Illinois. As an early
champion of good art in advertising and illustration, he created
artwork for direct-mail industrial advertising in the 1930s and
40s.
Nichols studied
at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, the Art Institute of Chicago with
Carl Werntz, and with Joseph Binder in Vienna. During his career,
he had eighteen solo exhibitions and exhibited in more than eighty
regional and national exhibitions.
Sources include:
David Zellman, 300 Years of American Art
Peter Falk, Who Was Who in American Art | |
Exhibition Record (Museums, Institutions and Awards):
Metropolitan Museum of Art; Art Institute of Chicago; FirsTier Bank, David City, NB, 1988. | |
Memberships:
All- Illinois Society for Fine Art; Society of Typographic Arts. |
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This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  Born David City, NE, July 13, 1904; died Sedona, AZ, Oct. 19, 1995. Illustrator. Blockprinter. Painter, specialized in farm life. Designer. Lithographer. Pupil at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Academy of Fine Art and of Joseph Binder in Vienna. Artist-in-residence at Washburn College, Topeka in 1939. Produced covers for Life magazine. Was Carnegie Visiting Professor and artist in residence at the University of Illinois in 1939-40. Author of A Philosophy of Esthetics (1938), Figure Drawing (1957), Mayan Mystery (1976); illustrated Two Years before the Mast (1941) and A World History (1940). Became art editor for the Encyclopedia Britannica in 1943. | Source:
COLLECTIONS:
Museum of Nebraska Art; Butler Institute of American Art; Great Plains Art Museum; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
MEMBERSHIPS:
All- Illinois Society for Fine Art; Society of Typographic Arts.
SOURCES:
Susan Craig, "Biographical Dictionary of Kansas Artists (active before 1945)"
Topeka Cap & Topeka J (Topeka Capital, Topeka J (aka Topeka J) newspapers—usually reports of the Kansas Artists Exhibition 1st= Topeka Cap Nov. 11, 1925 9th= Topeka J Nov. 11, 1933 2nd= Topeka Cap Nov. 10, 1926 10th= Topeka J Nov. 10, 1934 3rd= Topeka J Nov. 19, 1927 11th= Topeka J Jan. 7, 1936 4th= Topeka J Nov. 3, 1928 12th= Topeka J Nov. 11 & 14, 1936 5th= Topeka J Nov. 2, 1929 14th= Topeka J Jan. 22, 1938 6th= Topeka J Oct. 18 & Nov. 1, 1930 15th= Topeka J Mar. 10, 1939 7th= Topeka J Oct. 24, 1931 16th= Topeka J Feb. 2 & 10, 1940 8th= Topeka J Oct. 22, 1932 17th= Topeka J Mar. 8 & 17, 1941) (Oct. 28, 1939); Who’s Who in American Art. New York: American Federation of Arts, 1936- v.1=1936-37 v.3= 1941-42 v.2=1938-39 v.4=1940-47. 1, 6,7; AskArt, www.askart.com, accessed Jan. 5, 2006 | | This and over 1,750 other biographies can be found in Biographical Dictionary of Kansas Artists (active before 1945) compiled by Susan V. Craig, Art & Architecture Librarian at University of Kansas. |
Biography from Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery Santa FeTucson:
| Born in David City, Nebraska, Dale Nichols studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, the Art Institute of Chicago with Carl Werntz, and with Joseph Binder in Vienna.
An artist, printmaker, illustrator, watercolorist, designer, writer and lecturer, Dale Nichols was art editor of the "Encyclopedia Britannica" from 1942 to 1948, and in 1930-40, and served as Carnegie visiting professor to the University of Illinois. He was also an early champion of good art in advertising and illustration, and he created artwork for direct-mail industrial advertising in the 1930s and 40s. His Nebraska background was the inspiration for his rural landscapes. |
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