Jeff Nicholson — Scenic Nevada Heroe

Jeff Nicholson was born December 30, l947 in Arcata. He moved to Reno, in l962 and graduated from Reno High School in l966. Jeff attended University of Nevada, Reno, completing art studies in l978. Jeff has been involved in art related employment for many years. He was daraftsman, U.S. Army, Panama Canal Zone, l967-68; Commercial silkscreener and layout artist while in school, l971-76; Assistant Curator, Sierra Nevada Museum o Art, Reno, Nv, l978-80; Art instructor, Truckee Meadows Community College, Reno, l983-84; picture framer, Carson City, Nv, l984-85 and founder and co-owner, Great Basin Gallery, Carson City, l986.

• Purchase Award, Sacramento Regional Arts Council, Sacramento, Ca., l973.
• Commission, Eureka County Bicentennial Committee, l976.
• Commission, Design award for Esmeralda County Seal, Nevada, l977.
• NEA/Nevada State Arts Council grant recipient, l978.
• Honorable Mention, Nevada Biennial, Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, l993.
• Jurors Award, Nevada Biennial, Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, l996.

• Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, Nv.
• University of Nevada, Reno, medical school.
• University of Nevada, Reno, Presidents Office.
• The Governors Mansion, Carson City, Nv.
• Eureka County Historical Museum, Eureka, Nv.
• County of Esmeralda, Nevada.
• Sacramento Regional Arts Council, Sacramento, Ca.
• Nevada Commission on Tourism, Carson City, Nv.

• Nevada Annual, Nevada Art Gallery, Reno, l976.
• Three-man show, Pinion Gallery, Reno, l976.
• California Arts 23rd Annual, Cal Expo, Sacramento, Ca. , l977.
• One-man show, Sierra Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, l979.
• One-man show, Charleston Heights Art Center, Las Vegas, Nv, l980.
• One-man show, The Governors Mansion, Carson City, Nv, l98l Western States
• Exhibition, Russell Senate Bldg., Washington, D.C., l982 Two-man show,
• Tavelli Gallery, Aspen, Co., l983.
• One-man show, Gold Hill Bank Gallery, Gold Hill, Nv, l985 One-man show,
• Great Basin Gallery, Carson City, Nv, l989.
• One-man show, Hermitage Gallery, Reno, Nv, l990.
• One-man show, Western Nevada Community College, Carson City, l99l.
• Retrospective Exhibition, Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, Nv, l992.
• One-man show, South Tahoe Community College, l997.
• One-man show, Nevada State Library and Archives, Carson City, l998.
• Two-man show, Hermitage Gallery, Reno, 2002.
• Two-man show, Jack Bacon & Company, Reno, 2005 Three-man show, Carson City
• Courthouse Gallery, Carson City, 2006

Jeff Nicholson has been painting the life and landscape of Nevada for over 30 years and is considered by many to be the consummate Nevada realist painter. His work is in the permanent collections of the Nevada Museum of Art, the Governor¹s Mansion and the University of Nevada, Reno. He is a former Nevada State Arts Council/NEA grant recipient and award winner in the Nevada Biennial juried exhibition. The Nevada museum of Art has twice honored him with one-man shows. For a retrospective exhibit there in l992, then curator Howard Spencer wrote that Nicholson¹s art ³reflects a sense of nostalgia for the distinctive character of Nevada¹s historical past, as well as a keen appreciation for the subtle beauty of the natural world." Jeff has drawn inspiration from other Nevada artists such as Maynard Dixon, Robert Caples and Craig Sheppard, among others.

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