Dale Nichols: Transcending Regionalism

Curated by the Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art this exhibition displays a body of work by internationally known painter Dale Nichols. Nichols became famous for his Americana scenes of Midwestern homesteads with picturesque red barns and white snow. These have become the prized works on which Nichols built his career and from which contemporary collectors have built their collections. These artworks have been seen on commercial products such as Gold Seal puzzles, General Mills serving trays, and United States Postal Service stamps. However, there is much more to the story of Dale Nichols. “Transcending Regionalism” gives credit to these commemorative artworks and events and describes how these early works inform and explain Nichols’ exploration of style.

Paintings dating from 1935 to 1972 establish Nichols not only as the fourth regionalist in a line of great artists, such as Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton, but one who transcended the confines of the genre to achieve universal success in art. This exhibition represents a recollection of Nichols years on the farm in Nebraska but manifests those memories in a variety of styles and places. Nichols held firm to his Midwestern roots while he traveled the world in search of adventure and truth.

The exhibition will also be presented at the Georgia Art Museum, December 17, 2011- February 27, 2012 and Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, March 17- June 17, 2012, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, September 30, 2012- March 18, 2013.