Description:

Dale William Nichols (American, 1904-1995), "Country Church", 1947, oil on canvas, signed and dated lower left, exhibition label en verso, 30 in. x 40 in., framed; accompanied by copies of the Sotheby Parke Bernet catalogue page and invoice. Provenance: Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc., New York, Nov. 1970, sale 4048, The American Heritage Auction of Americana, Nov. 17-19, 1977, lot 587; The Zigler Art Museum, Jennings, LA. Note: Born on his father's grain farm in David City, Nebraska, Dale Nichols found inspiration throughout his career from his experiences as a child in rural America. Although he studied briefly at the Chicago Academy of Fine Art and the Art Institute of Chicago, his academic experiences held little influence on his unique style. Working during the height of the American Scene movement, Nichols decried modernism and forged a personal aesthetic based on regionalist themes and what he called "applied psychology." He saw his paintings as filled with symbolism, which would connect to the deepest truths of human existence and beautifully reflect American country life. Characterized by Nichol's geometric compositional elements, the important painting offered here is a particularly compelling example of the artist's skill with light, with a shaft of moonlight slanting downward to emphasize the doorway and steeple of the rural church. The color palette and sweeping landscape imbue the painting with a sense of isolation, spirituality and anticipation of perhaps the arrival and pleasure of a Sunday morning. Nichol's art was exhibited at the New York World's Fair in 1939, further confirming his status as one of the great Midwest painters, and he exhibited in over eighty regional and national shows during his lifetime. In 1943, Nichols succeeded Grant Wood to become the Art Editor of the Encyclopedia Britannica, a position he would hold until 1948. The 1947 canvas offered here was created during his tenure as Art Editor and at the height of Nichol's career. Ref.: Adams, Henry. "Go Behind the Red Barn and Rediscover Dale Nichols." Smithsonian Magazine. Jan. 26, 2012. www.smithsonianmag.com. Accessed Jan. 3, 2017. Sheppard, Sara. "Dale William Nichols: American Rural Regionalist Painter." Sullivan Goss: An American Gallery. www.sullivangoss.com. Accessed Jan. 3, 2017.

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February 11, 2017 10:00 AM CST
New Orleans, LA, US

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