American & European Art

Literature:

Dale Nichols, Dale Nichols, Brief Account of His Career (reproduced in a black & white photo with the artist)

Cole Sartore, Worthy Rivals: Dale Nichols & Terence Duren, David City, Nebraska, 2018, p. 24, pl. 17, illus.

Lot note:

Autumn Furrows, 1938, blends together Dale Nichols’ highly stylized, Midwestern subject matter within the imposing setting of an Alaskan mountain range. This unlikely juxtaposition came about from a journey the artist took in 1937. In the summer of that year, Nichols traveled from Chicago to the Alaskan wilderness, settling in a small cabin just outside Seward. He was inspired to make the journey by Rockwell Kent, an artist Nichols had long admired. Kent stayed in Alaska the winter of 1918-19 and later wrote about his time painting and drawing there in the book Wilderness. Originally a graphic artist and illustrator, Nichols was still searching for his own artistic voice in the late 1930s. His nascent theories on the use of color and composition to evoke emotion in the viewer came directly from his graphic art experience. The artist hoped that the solitary realities of the harsh region would help him further solidify his personal vision.