James T. Nutt (born November 28, 1938) is an American artist who was a founding member of the Chicago

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

art movement known as the

Chicago Imagists The Chicago Imagists are a group of representational artists associated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago who exhibited at the Hyde Park Art Center in the late 1960s. Their work was known for grotesquerie, Surrealism and complete ind ...

, or the Hairy Who. Though his work is inspired by the same

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

that inspired Pop Art, journalist Web Behrens says Nutt's "paintings, particularly his later works, are more accomplished than those of the more celebrated

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

and

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein (; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. Hi ...

." According to

Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Art (often abbreviated to MCA, MoCA or MOCA) may refer to: Africa * Museum of Contemporary Art (Tangier), Morocco, officially le Galerie d'Art Contemporain Mohamed Drissi Asia East Asia * Museum of Contemporary Art Shangha ...

curator Lynne Warren, Nutt is "the premier artist of his generation".Web Behrens, "Nutty faces: Chicago Artist Jim Nutt still imagines, inspires", Time Out Chicago Kids, Issue 7, February/March 2011, p. 64 Nutt attended the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...

, in Chicago, Illinois. He is married to fellow-artist and Hairy Who member

Gladys Nilsson Gladys M. Nilsson (born May 6, 1940) is an American artist, and one of the original Hairy Who Chicago Imagists, a group of representational artists active during the 1960s and 1970s. She is married to fellow-artist and Hairy Who member Jim N ...

.Barbara B. Buchholz, "Chicago's Style: Gutsy, Independent, Defiant: A New Show Captures Our Artistic Traits: Jim Nutt and Gladys Nilsson: Two from the Who's Who of the Hairy Who",

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

Magazine, December 1, 1996, pp. 14-21

Early life

Jim Nutt was born in 1938 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He attended college at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, then the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, then

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

, then the

, where he met his future wife, fellow artist

.Christine Newman, "When Jim Met Gladys", "Chicago" Magazine, Vo. 60, No. 2, February 2011

Art career

In 1963 Nilsson and Nutt were introduced to

art history professor

Whitney Halstead Whitney Halstead (1926 - 1979) was an American art historian, and artist. He graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a B.F.A and M.F.A. He taught art history at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His papers are he ...

, who became a teacher, mentor, and friend. He introduced them in turn to

Don Baum Don Baum (1922–2008) was an American curator, artist and educator, most known as a key impresario and promoter of the Chicago Imagists, a group of artists that had an enduring impact on American art in the later twentieth century.Friedman, Anna ...

, exhibition director at the

Hyde Park Art Center The Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC) is a visual arts organization and the oldest Alternative exhibition spaces, alternative exhibition space in the city of Chicago. Since 2006, HPAC has been located just north of Hyde Park Boulevard, at 5020 S.Cornell ...

in Chicago. In 1964 Nilsson and Nutt became youth instructors at the

Hairy Who

In 1964, Jim Nutt and

began to teach children's classes at the

in Chicago. They and James Falconer approached the center's exhibitions director,

, with the idea of a group show consisting of the three of them and Art Green and Suellen Rocca. Baum agreed, and also suggested they include

Karl Wirsum Karl Wirsum (1939May 6, 2021) was an American artist. He was a member of the Chicago artistic group The Hairy Who, and helped set the foundation for Chicago's art scene in the 1970s. Although he was primarily a painter, he also worked with prin ...

. The name of the group show, "Hairy Who?", became the name of the group. It was coined by

as a reference to

WFMT WFMT is an FM broadcasting, FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a format of fine arts, classical music programming, and shows exploring such genres as folk music, folk. The station is managed by Window to the World Communications, In ...

art critic Harry Bouras.Dan Nadel, "Hairy Who’s history of the Hairy Who." The Ganzfeld 3. New York: Monday Morning, 2003. p. 121-2. There were exhibitions at the

in 1966, 1967, 1968, and 1969. The 1968 exhibition traveled to the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

, and the last show, in 1969, traveled to the

Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Overview The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

Later career

In 1969, the influential Chicago gallery owner

Phyllis Kind Phyllis Barbara Kind ( Cobin; 1933–2018) was an American art dealer active in Chicago and New York. She promoted the work of the Chicago Imagists and outsider artists. Early life and family Phyllis Kind was born Phyllis Barbara Cobin in The B ...

agreed to represent Nutt and Gladys Nilsson, giving both of them their first solo shows. In that same year Nutt and Nilsson moved to

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, California, where he was an assistant professor of art at Sacramento State College. In 1972 Walter Hopps, director of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, chose Nutt along with other artists to represent the United States at the 1972

Venice Biennial The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

, and he was also included, along with a number of his Chicago colleagues, in the 1973

São Paulo Art Biennial The São Paulo Art Biennial (Portuguese: ''Bienal de São Paulo'') was founded in 1951 and has been held every two years since. It is the second oldest art biennial in the world after the Venice Biennale (in existence since 1895), which serves as ...

. In 1974 Nutt and his family returned to Chicago. They have lived in

Wilmette Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a population of 27,087 at the 2010 census. The ...

since 1976. Jim Nutt had his first solo show in 1974 at the

; it then traveled to the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, t ...

and the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...

. Nutt's current art dealer is the David Nolan Gallery, New York. Jim Nutt exhibited a retrospective of his paintings, "Jim Nutt: Coming Into Character" at the

in Chicago from January 29 - May 29, 2011. In a catalogue essay accompanying this exhibition, painter Alexi Worth suggests that "what matters to Nutt are not real faces but our expectations of faces."

Family life

In 1960, while attending the

, he met fellow student

. Nutt and Nilsson married in July 1961 in a chapel on the grounds of

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, and their son Claude was born in 1962.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nutt, Jim 1938 births 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century American male artists School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Artists from Chicago Living people 20th-century American male artists