Jackson Lee Nesbitt

sketch of farmers

1994

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...

This 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...

"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...

This 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...

A pencil drawing with ink wash Tom Leveritt (1976) was raised in Texas, sent to boarding school in the UK, got a first at Cambridge, an Army Scholarship i...

A pencil drawing Tom Leveritt (1976) was raised in Texas, sent to boarding school in the UK, got a first at Cambridge, an Army Scholarship into the 5th Ro...

Jay Alan Babcock is a St. Louis-based graphic designer and painter. His work exhibits his interest in the visual language of Americana, including old ...

Jay Alan Babcock is a St. Louis-based graphic designer and painter. His work exhibits his interest in the visual language of Americana, including old ...

Pencil, coloured pencil and chalk on paper, titled (lower left), signed (lower right), 31cm x 46cm, (51cm x 68cm framed). John Koch was an American painter and teacher, and an impo...

BYE BYE BIRDIE Original 1960 Broadway Musical Costume Drawing Tony Award Elvis. Miles White (1915 – 2000) BYE BYE BIRDIE 11 x 8 inches Mixed Media on...

BYE BYE BIRDIE Original 1960 Broadway Musical Costume Drawing Tony Award Elvis Miles White (1915 – 2000) BYE BYE BIRDIE 11 x 8 inches Mixed Media on Paper Signed Lower Right Framed by Bark Affixed to the back are original gold lame fabric swatches. This drawing is available, along with two other original costume drawings from BIRDIE by Miles White, another of Conrad Birdie and one of Chita Rivera. Miles White, a leading Broadway and Hollywood costume designer for decades. created costumes for the original Broadway productions of OKLAHOMA CAROUSEL, BYE BYE BIRDIE and many others. In film he worked on "Around the World in 80 Days" and "The Greatest Show on Earth." He designed Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and the Ice Capades for many years. Miles was a close friend for the last 20 years of his life. We live with one of his two Tony Awards and a dozen drawings. BYE BYE BIRDIE is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart...

Chita Rivera BYE BYE BIRDIE Original 1960 Broadway Costume Drawing Tony Awards Miles White (1915 – 2000) ChITA RIVERA in BYE BYE BIRDIE 11 x 8 inches M...