George Washington Nicholson

George Washington Nicholson (1832–1912) was an American artist best known for his landscape portraits.

Born near Salem, New Jersey and raised in Mannington Township, New Jersey, Nicholson worked painting homes and began painting pictures with the encouragement of his sister.[1]

He lived in Philadelphia and married Jane Elizabeth Bray, who died shortly after their only son was born. Nicholson taught art, largely giving private lessons. After studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Nicholson spent years travelling to Europe and the Middle East, where he continued his studies. He continued private lessons and had works displayed in shows, and at fairs and museums, many of which featured sites that he had seen on his trip to Europe.[1] Some of his works featured sites he had seen in the Middle East.[2] He received commissions for works that included the mural Washington Crossing the Delaware, which was part of the collection at the Pennsylvania State House, until it was destroyed by fire.[1] Wanamaker's department store commissioned Nicholson to paint a 7-by-14-foot (2.1 by 4.3 m) landscape mural, The Old Homestead, which he completed in March 1892 and was on display there until it was sold to a private collection sometime after 1950.[1]

He moved to Hammonton, New Jersey, where he resided with his son and died there in 1912. During his time in Hammonton, he painted many pictures inspired by the places along the Jersey Shore.[1][3]

  1. ^ a b c d e Ogden, Kate Nearpass. Nicholson, G.W., McCaughen & Burr. Accessed June 6, 2023. "The landscape painter George Washington Nicholson was born near Salem, New Jersey in 1832. As a boy Nicholson lived in Mannington Township. By the age of 17 he was apprenticed to a house painter named Daniel Woodruff in Salem. According to family tradition, he was encouraged in his artistic pursuits by his oldest sister, Rachel, and probably began painting in the 1850s."
  2. ^ Ackerman, Gerald M. American Orientalists, p. 148. ACR Edition Internationale, 1994. ISBN 9782867700781. Accessed June 6, 2023.
  3. ^ Genocchio, Benjamin. "An Artist's Work Gets Its First Cataloging and Show", The New York Times, July 20, 2008. Accessed June 6, 2023. "Nicholson spent most of his career in Philadelphia. It is assumed that he made a living selling his depictions of American and foreign subjects to collectors. He continued to visit New Jersey to see relatives and to paint the southern shore and marshes, and eventually retired there in 1902, spending the final decade of his life in the town of Hammonton."