Items Similar to Characters from the Sketchbooks (from September Storm plus Self Portrait)
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 12
Jackson Lee NesbittCharacters from the Sketchbooks (from September Storm plus Self Portrait)1990
1990
About the Item
This is a page from the artist's sketchbooks. Six pencil drawings show figures that might have been in preparation for future lithographs, Certainly the woman with the umbrella could have been an early iteration for September Storm. There is also a self portrait of Nesbitt. Clearly the works are authentic if unsigned. Provenance: from the Nesbitt studio.
From workers wrestling with heavy machinery to a lone horseman traveling down a rut-filled country road; from the animated crowd at a livestock auction to the dignified worshippers at a serene Sunday service; Jackson Lee Nesbitt chose to represent the essence of humanity and the nobility of ordinary folk striving to get along as best they can. He studied with Thomas Hart Benton and John Demartelly at the Kansas City Art Institute, and his work over the decades celebrated his Regionalist roots.
Stone and Press published a catalogue raisonne, "Jackson Lee Nesbitt, The Graphic Work in 1993".
- Creator:Jackson Lee Nesbitt (1913-2008, American)
- Creation Year:1990
- Dimensions:Height: 14 in (35.56 cm)Width: 10 in (25.4 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New Orleans, LA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU841310117632
Jackson Lee Nesbitt
The catalog raisonne Jackson Lee Nesbitt / The Graphic Work was compiled by Earl Retif and Ann Salzer and published by Stone and PressJackson Lee Nesbitt, a noted printmaker and painter of the American Scene, dedicated his artistic career to the portrayal of ordinary people going about the business of their lives. Born in McAlester, Oklahoma, on June 16, 1913, Nesbitt created scenes from the Midwest He attended the Kansas City Art Institute where he learned etching from John deMartelly, attended Ross Braught's painting class, and met his future wife, Elaine Thompson, who was a costume design student. Thomas Hart Benton, who joined the faculty in the fall of 1935, quickly became a close friend and mentor to the younger artist.
In 1937 Sheffield Steel contacted deMartelly concerning an etching commission and his teacher suggested him for the job. He was commissioned to create a series of etchings illustrating different phases of the steel industry. The commission launched Nesbitt's career as a professional artist. The commission with Sheffield Steel Corporation provided the financial security that enabled Jack and Elaine Nesbitt to marry on June 1, 1938. He graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute and working as a freelance artist, Nesbitt augmented his commissioned work with genre scenes of the Midwest. He routinely went with Benton on sketching trips to rural Arkansas. The landscape and people of the Ozarks often appear in the finished work of both artists.
Associated American Artists selected one of his etchings, Watering Place, for an edition of 250 prints that were sold through subscription. Having a print published by AAA ensured national distribution.
He was awarded the Eames Prize by the Society of American Etchers in 1946, and his work was included in the book American Prize Prints of the Twentieth Century, by Albert Reese. Nesbitt taught etching (1949-1951) at the Kansas City Art Institute. In 1984 Norman and June Kraeft, (June 1 Gallery) were leading the revival of interest in early-twentieth-century American prints and convinced Nesbitt to return to printmaking. Due to problems with eyesight Nesbitt turned to lithography. From 1988 until 1993, Nesbitt created six lithographs. Five of the prints are composite images based on sketches, people, and memories of Nesbitt's life in the Midwest. Nesbitt's work is found in numerous museums and collections around the nation. His work may be found in Georgia at the Columbus Museum in Columbus and at the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta. Other institutions housing his prints and paintings include the Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill; Boston Public Library in Boston, Massachusetts; Columbus Museum of Art in Columbus, Ohio; Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.; Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Memphis, Tennessee; Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia; and the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Nesbitt died near Atlanta, on February 20, 2008.
About the Seller
4.9
Platinum Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are 1stDibs' most experienced sellers and are rated highest by our customers.
Established in 1988
1stDibs seller since 2018
756 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 3 hours
Associations
International Fine Print Dealers Association
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New Orleans, LA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Male Lying NudeBy Jackson Lee NesbittLocated in New Orleans, LAThis is a drawing from the artist's sketchbooks. This pencil drawing shows a nude male in repose, The drawing is dated November 30 '36 (1936). Clearly the works are authentic and this sketch is signed "Jackson Lee Nesbitt...Category
Late 20th Century American Modern Nude Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsGraphite
- Statue of Young Boy in Fountain on the PlazaBy Jackson Lee NesbittLocated in New Orleans, LAThis very early original red conte drawing is signed "Jack L. Nesbitt, 4/21/34". On the back of the drawing, Nesbitt has written "Quick sketch from fountain on Plaza". Jack was a student of Thomas Hart Benton at the Kansas City Art Institute during this period. The figure on the drawing is of a nude young boy with both arms in the air. A very rare early work by this fine artist. Jackson Lee Nesbitt, a noted printmaker and painter of the American Scene, dedicated his artistic career to the portrayal of ordinary people going about the business of their lives. A native of Oklahoma, Nesbitt created scenes from the Midwest during the 1930s and 1940s, but in the 1950s, when interest in his work diminished, he moved to Atlanta and established a second career in advertising. Thirty years later, Nesbitt sold his business and resumed his artistic career from Atlanta. He was born in McAlester, Oklahoma, on June 16, 1913, the only child of LuCena Grant and Howard Nesbitt. The family resided in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where his father owned a commercial printing business. Jack, as Nesbitt was known, helped out in the family business until 1931, when he enrolled at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Two years later Nesbitt enrolled at the Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri. As a first-year student, he learned etching from John deMartelly, attended Ross Braught's painting class, and met his future wife, Elaine Thompson, who was a costume design student. Thomas Hart Benton, who joined the faculty in the fall of 1935, quickly became a close friend and mentor to the younger artist. In 1937 the management of the Sheffield Steel Corporation contacted deMartelly concerning an etching commission. Because Nesbitt was an outstanding student, his teacher suggested him for the job. When Nesbitt arrived at the plant one afternoon, he was taken to the open-hearth furnace area, where he diligently sketched anonymous workers in that dramatic setting until five o'clock the following morning. On the strength of his sketches, he was commissioned to create a series of etchings illustrating different phases of the steel industry. The commission launched Nesbitt's career as a professional artist. The commission with Sheffield Steel Corporation provided the financial security that enabled Jack and Elaine Nesbitt to marry on June 1, 1938. He graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute about the same time. Working as a freelance artist, Nesbitt augmented his commissioned work with genre scenes of the Midwest, and he routinely went with Benton on sketching trips to rural Arkansas. Beginning in 1939 Nesbitt's work gained widespread recognition. Open Hearth Door, a Sheffield Steel Corporation painting, was chosen to represent Missouri in the American Art Today exhibition at the New York World's Fair. Associated American Artists selected one of his etchings, Watering Place, for an edition of 250 prints that were sold through subscription. Having a print published by the association ensured national distribution, and four more of Nesbitt's works, all of rural southern genre scenes, were later selected by the print publisher. Over the next decade Nesbitt's work was exhibited in California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, New York, and Oklahoma. He was awarded the Eames Prize by the Society of American Etchers in 1946, and his work was included in the book American Prize Prints of the Twentieth Century, by Albert Reese. Major corporations with operations in the Midwest, including Brown and Bigelow, Butler Manufacturing Company, Humble Oil and Refining Company, Omaha Steel Works, Pratt and Whitney...Category
1930s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsConté
- Barns in the Helderberg, New York (rural 1930s American scene with vintage car)By Martin LewisLocated in New Orleans, LA"Barns in the Helderberg, New York" by Martin Lewis shows neighbors (one in a Model T car) visiting outside a series of barns with a tree in the background...Category
1930s American Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsCharcoal, Chalk
- Into the Night (a lone male emerges from a subway stop by the Flatiron Building)By Frederick MershimerLocated in New Orleans, LAA lone figure emerges out of bright lights streaming from a subway entrance at the corner of 23rd and Broadway near the Flatiron Building and Madison Square Park. He has just exited the uptown...Category
Early 2000s American Modern Figurative Prints
MaterialsMezzotint
- CommencementBy Caroline DurieuxLocated in New Orleans, LACaroline Durieux's image captures a lone figure in her garden in this southern plantation in Louisiana. "Plantation Garden" is a lithograph created by Durieux in 1946 in an edition of 20. It is signed in pencil. Durieux shared her feeling about this piece with these reflections. “The spectrum analysis of satire runs from the red of invective at one end to the violet of the most delicate irony at the other.” David Worcester 16, "The Art of Satire". The feeling expressed in Plantation Garden is that of a dirge with ironic overtones; it is sad, nostalgic yet satirical. The bent figure of the old lady, the ancient trees, the static moss, all seem to belong to the past; even the lady is old. For contrast, a ray of late afternoon sun lights up the only young note in the picture: perennials in the foreground. When “we are satirical and we are friendly at the same time, the consciousness of the friendship gives a regretful and tender touch to the satire, and the sting of the satire makes the friendship a trifle humble and sad.” George Santayna 255, "The Sense of Beauty". This concept of satire mixed with friendship comes closer to humor because there is less censure involved. In "Plantation Garden", the satire is tempered by a feeling of empathy. Caroline Durieux (American, 1896 – 1989) Printmaker, painter, satirist, innovator, social activist, Caroline Durieux was born in New Orleans and was already making sketches by the age of four. Her formal art training was at Newcomb College (1912-1917) and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1918-1920). Carl Zigrosser of the Philadelphia Museum of Art encouraged Durieux to try lithography. While living in Mexico, she learned lithography from Emilio Amero...Category
1940s American Modern Landscape Prints
MaterialsLithograph
- Rooftops (the harbor and skyline of NYC from Brooklyn rooftop)By Frederick MershimerLocated in New Orleans, LAMoody, mysterious, majestic – these are some of the ways to describe the mezzotints of Frederick Mershimer. His images travel through the serenity of a Brooklyn neighborhood on a sti...Category
Early 20th Century American Modern Landscape Prints
MaterialsMezzotint, Aquatint
You May Also Like
- Third Man 3, night, city scape, monochromatic, narrativeBy Tom BennettLocated in Brooklyn, NYDramatic imagery from FILM NOIR series of black and white monotypes, blending surrealistic mindscapes with stark realism About Tom Bennett: With quick brushstrokes, Tom Bennett crea...Category
2010s American Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsArchival Paper, Monotype
- Strasburg Cathedral - Original Lithograph - Mid-19th CenturyLocated in Roma, ITStrasburg Cathedral is an original modern artwork realized in the Mid-19th Century. Original B/W Lithograph on Ivory Paper. Inscripted on the lower central margin: Strasburg Cathe...Category
Mid-19th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsLithograph
- Die Cathedrale in Rouen - Original Lithograph - Mid-19th CenturyLocated in Roma, ITDie Cathedrale in Rouen is an original modern artwork realized in the Mid-19th Century. Original B/W Lithograph on Ivory Paper. Inscripted on the lower central margin in Capital L...Category
Mid-19th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsLithograph
- View of Canal in Venice - Drawing - Mid-20th CenturyLocated in Roma, ITView of Canal in Venice is an original drawing in watercolor on cardboard realized by an anonymous artist in the mid-20th Century. Good conditions. The artwork represents the color...Category
Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsInk, Watercolor
- Ancient View of Strasburg - Original Lithograph - Mid-19th CenturyLocated in Roma, ITAncient View of Strasburg is an original modern artwork realized in the Mid-19th Century. Original B/W Lithograph on Ivory Paper. Inscripted on the lower central margin: Strasburg...Category
Mid-19th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsLithograph
- Roman Arch - Screen Print by Marco Orsi - 1980sLocated in Roma, ITRoman Arch (Arch of Constantine) is an original screen print on paper realized by the Italian artist Marco Orsi (1926 - 1999). Hand-signed on the lower rig...Category
1980s Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsScreen, Paper