Lillie May Nicholson
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Lillie May Nicholson (1884–1964) was an American painter and educator from
Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...
. Her artwork is in the collections of the
Monterey Museum of Art The Monterey Museum of Art (MMA) an art museum located in Monterey, California. It was founded in 1959 as a chapter of the American Federation of Arts. The Monterey Museum of Art collects, preserves, and interprets the art of California from th ...
, the
Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...
, and the White House Collection. She is also known as Lillie De Wolf.


Biography

Nicholson was born near
Aromas, California Aromas (Spanish for "Scents") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County and San Benito County, California, United States. The population was 2,708 at the 2020 census. The CDP straddles the border of the t ...
on August 29, 1884, on the family ranch. In 1907, she graduated from the
California State Normal School San Jose State University, San José State University traces back to 1857 when the institution operated as a normal school for the San Francisco Unified School District, San Francisco public school system. It grew in size and scope until May 2, 1862 ...
in San Jose and moved to
Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
, Hawaii where she taught school for two years (1908–1910). Then she taught in
Watsonville, California Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and ...
(1910–1911) and studied watercolor painting with L. Minnie Pardee for a year. Soon she was off to
Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
, Japan studying art under J. Taguchi from 1911 to 1916. After returning to California, she continued her art studies for five years at the California School of Fine Arts (which later became the
San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a Private college, private art school, 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 Mis ...
). There she was greatly influenced by Gottardo Piazzoni. During 1921–1922 she traveled and painted in Italy and France. She was married to Paul DeWolf in 1925 for only one year. Even though the union was short-lived she was sometimes known as Lillie De Wolf. From 1923–1938 she maintained a studio in
Pacific Grove, California Pacific Grove is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city had a population of 15,090 at the 2020 census. Pacific Grove is a popular tourist destination on ...
and specialized in coastal scenes and the fishing industry around
Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...
. Considered an
Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
, she chose vivid colors and used loose horizontal brush strokes.  In 1938, she changed careers and closed her art studio. After moving to
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
, California, she became an aircraft mechanic and inspector at the
Alameda Naval Air Station Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda) was a United States Navy Naval Air Station mostly in Alameda, California, with a slight portion of it within San Francisco proper, on San Francisco Bay. NAS Alameda had two runways: 13–31 measuring and ...
.


Death and legacy

She lived her last 20 years in the Sutter Hotel in Oakland, California, and she died there on November 28, 1964. She was buried in Pioneer Cemetery in Watsonville. Her work was thought to be lost until 1979 when trunks were "rediscovered" at the family ranch and found to contain many surviving artworks. Two of her pieces are held by the
White House Historical Association The White House Historical Association, founded in 1961 through efforts of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, is a private, nonprofit organization that works to preserve the history of the White House and make its history more accessible to the publ ...
as part of its White House Collection.


Exhibitions

Nicholson's works have appeared on exhibit during and after her lifetime. * Carmel Arts and Crafts Club, 1923–1928 * Arizona State Fair, 1927 * California State Fair, 1926–1928 * Santa Cruz Art League, 1928 * Monterey Peninsula Museum, 1981 (solo) *
Oakland Museum Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
, 1981 * University of California, Santa Cruz, 1985 * Santa Cruz Museum, 1986 (retrospective)


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Lillie May 1884 births 1964 deaths 19th-century American painters 19th-century American women artists 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women artists American women painters Artists from Oakland, California Painters from California People from Pacific Grove, California San Francisco Art Institute alumni San Jose State University alumni