JOHN W. NICOLL

(American, 1856-1943)

SANTA BARBARA LANDSCAPE

Watercolor on Paper

8 x 12 Inches

Signed Lower Left, "J. W. Nicoll"

Titled Lower Left, "Santa Barbara"

 

 A luminous, early twentieth-century landscape showing a picturesque view of a Spanish style cottage set in a lush garden with a view beyond towards the Santa Ynez Mountains rising towards clouded, blue skies. An unusual and elegant view of old-time Santa Barbara that retains much of its crispness and freshness of color.

 

Born in New York, John Nicoll first studied with his uncle, the landscape painter, James Nicoll. He subsequently moved to Paris where he furthered his education for three years under Bouguereau and Ferrier at the Académie Julian. He then continued on to Seville where he studied for three years at the Academia Real, spending his winters traveling and painting in North Africa.

 

By 1899, Nicoll had settled in Pasadena where he painted, exhibited and taught drawing at the College of Fine Arts from 1906-1935. Upon his retirement, he moved to San Diego where he continued to paint and exhibit until his death in 1943. Over the course of a long career, James Nicoll exhibited widely and with success including at the Stickley Building, Pasadena, 1899; Blanchard Hall, Los Angeles, 1899; the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St Louis, 1904; the Ruskin Art Club, Los Angeles, 1904; Lewis & Clark Expo Portland, 1905 (Bronze Medal); the Painters Club, Los Angeles, 1906-09; the Nicholson Gallery, Pasadena, 1907; the Stendahl Gallery, Los Angeles, 1909; Alaska-Yukon Exposition, Seattle, 1909; the Daniell Gallery, Los Angeles, 1913; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Solo Exhibition, 1923, and the Pasadena Art Institute, 1925; among others.

 

Sheet Dimensions: 9 x 12¾ Inches

 

Reference:

Artists in California 1786-1940, Third Edition, Edan Milton Hughes: Crocker Art Museum, Sheridan Books 2002, Vol. 2, p. 816; Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Peter Hastings Falk, Sound View Press 1999, Vol. 2, p. 2425; Publications in Southern California Art 1, 2 & 3, Nancy Dustin Wall Moure, Dustin Publications 1984, p. 180; Los Angeles Times, 1-28-1906; California Arts and Architecture list, 1932; California State Library (Sacramento); et al.