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Clifton 'Cliff' Nicholson is an American sculptor and
jewelry designer Jewellery design is the art or profession of designing and creating jewellery. This is one of civilization's earliest forms of decoration, dating back at least 7,000 years to the oldest known human societies in Indus Valley Civilization, Mesopo ...
.


Early life and education

Clifton Nicholson grew up in
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...
where, from an early age, he developed his sculpting skills by carving soap. Nicholson studied engineering before taking a metals design class, eventually choosing to focus on interior design at
Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...
. Although he hated the subject, he still learned enough to design "Roughwood", a house for his parents in Indiana, for which he received a Burlington House Award, which was presented annually by the Burlington textiles company to those whose interior design skills were deemed deserving of recognition. He graduated in 1967 with a Master's in jewelry and metal design, with a minor in weaving. After graduation, Nicholson briefly worked as official silversmith for the Restoration Commission in
St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; es, San Agustín ) is a city in the Southeastern United States and the county seat of St. Johns County on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabit ...
before moving to New York.


Jewelry

Some of Nicholson's early designs were exhibited in the
Museum of Contemporary Crafts The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the mus ...
(now the Museum of Arts and Design), New York. Upon his arrival in New York, Nicholson became an assistant designer for Richelieu, at that time the second largest jewelry company in America. He was introduced to the company by Bill Smith, also from Indiana, who became vice president of Richelieu after only two months. Whilst working for Richelieu Nicholson took advantage of the nights and weekends to produce his own work, which he sold to
Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. is an American integrated luxury retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which owns Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Horchow, and Last Call. Since September 2021, NMG has been owned by a group of investment compan ...
and
Henri Bendel Henri Bendel, Inc. (pronounced BEN-del), established in 1895, was a women's department store based in New York City which in its later history sold women's handbags, jewelry, luxury fashion accessories, home fragrances and gifts. Its New York Ci ...
. One of his shell, leather and feather necklaces was modelled by
Lauren Hutton Lauren Hutton (born Mary Laurence Hutton; November 17, 1943) is an American model and actress. Born and raised in the southern United States, Hutton relocated to New York City in her early adulthood to begin a modeling career. Though she was ini ...
on the cover of the edition of March 15, 1970 of ''
American Vogue ''Vogue'' is an American monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers many topics, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. Based at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, ''Vogu ...
''. This exposure led to Nicholson being fired by Richelieu, who took exception to their junior designer receiving so much attention. Later that year, Nicholson was one of six jewelry designers honoured with a special
Coty Award The Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards (awarded 1943–1984) were created in 1942 by the cosmetics and perfume company Coty, Inc. to promote and celebrate American fashion, and encourage design during the Second World War. In 1985, the Coty A ...
in 1970 alongside Daniel Stoenescu and Steven Brody of Cadoro, Alexis Kirk, Marty Ruza and Bill Smith. Like Alexis Kirk, he received the award for his debut collection. Nicholson's jewelry is known for its use of natural materials, such as feathers, uncut crystal,
cowrie shells Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. The term ''porcelain'' derives from the old Italian term for the cowrie shell (''porcellana'') ...
, petrified beetles and
mother-of-pearl Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is ...
, which he combined into sculptural, one-of-a-kind forms. In 1974, he created his first diamond collection, using the gemstones and small amounts of gold to complement his shell sculptures. By the early 1980s, he was relying less on feathers and leather, and was producing precious metal jewellery using the lost-wax method. Among his inspirations, Nicholson credits the architects
Antoni Gaudi Antoni is a Catalan, Polish, and Slovene given name and a surname used in the eastern part of Spain, Poland and Slovenia. As a Catalan given name it is a variant of the male names Anton and Antonio. As a Polish given name it is a variant of the f ...
and
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
, the glass artists
Émile Gallé Émile Gallé (8 May 1846 in Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted for his designs of ...
and
René Lalique René Jules Lalique (6 April 1860 – 1 May 1945) was a French jeweller, medallist, and glass designer known for his creations of glass art, perfume bottles, vases, jewellery, chandeliers, clocks, and automobile hood ornaments. Life Lalique' ...
, and
Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art NouveauL ...
as particularly influential. Nature is also a very significant influence on his work, and he has said he finds it difficult to work in an urban context. After starting out in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
with only a small tree and a pet
African bullfrog The African bullfrog (''Pyxicephalus adspersus'') is a species of frog in the family Pyxicephalidae. It is also known as the pixie frog due to its scientific name. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, ...
to keep him in touch with nature, he relocated his studio in the early 1980s to
Kerhonkson Kerhonkson is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 1,684 at the 2010 census. The Kerhonkson CDP is an urban concentration that straddles the border of the town of Rochester and ...
, a tiny hamlet in New York State which offered a more conductive working environment. A retrospective exhibition of his work was hosted by the
Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft KMAC Museum is an American art museum that "connects people to Art and Creative Practice". The museum is a 501c3 organization located in the West Main District of downtown Louisville, Kentucky History The museum was founded in 1981 as the Ken ...
(now KMAC Museum) from April to June 2004.


Personal life

After 28 years in New York, Nicholson bought Roughwood from his parents and moved back home to Scottsburg, Indiana, where he has worked from since. In addition to his jewelry and sculpture, he currently runs the Roughwood
Aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages. A ...
which is dedicated to breeding
peafowl Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are re ...
and
pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Eurasia ...
s, including
Onagadori The Onagadori ( ja, 尾長鶏, "long-tailed chicken") is a historic Japanese breed of chicken, characterised by an exceptionally long tail. It was bred in the seventeenth century in Kōchi Prefecture, on Shikoku island in southern Japan, and w ...
chickens and rare species such as the
great argus The great argus (''Argusianus argus'') is a species of pheasant from Southeast Asia. It is not to be confused with the two species of closely related crested argus, genus ''Rheinardia''. Taxonomy Carl Linnaeus gave the great argus its specifi ...
pheasant and the
Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...
and
Bornean peacock-pheasant The Bornean peacock-pheasant (''Polyplectron schleiermacheri'') is a medium-sized pheasant. It is probably the rarest and certainly the least known of all peacock-pheasants. This elusive bird is endemism in birds, endemic to lowland forests of Bo ...
s.


References


External links


Personal website of Clifton Nicholson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Clifton American jewelry designers 20th-century American sculptors Purdue University alumni Living people 1944 births People from Scott County, Indiana Sculptors from Indiana 21st-century American sculptors