When I saw my first Nicols painting 20 years ago, I immediately fell in love with it.
Thomas Duke, Collector
The colors, the atmosphere, the detail in the foreground and the distant Superstition Mountains—all were so beautifully done.
View More Paintings in the Book Everything but Gray
The above gallery is a small sample of the extraordinary work by Audley Dean Nicols. The book Everything but Gray: The Life of Audley Dean Nicols presents a documented biography of the artist, along with the largest assemblage of Nicols’ work so far gathered in one place.
A successful illustrator, his drawings and paintings appeared in the day’s most popular magazines. This painting was commissioned by Collier’s and appeared on the cover of its May 1904 fiction issue with the title The Orchard.
When Nicols “heard a call in the desert,” his subject matter changed radically. But not his exquisite attention to detail and his ability to convey the subtlest color effects. From a lady’s fingernails and dress flounce, he turned his hand to the thorns of cacti; from the shimmering hues of flowering trees and rich fabric, he turned his eye to the shades light made on mesas and rock faces.
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