Brook, Bank, Cedarburg Wisconsin
Artist
William Nichols
(American)
Date1983
MediumWatercolor
Dimensions18 × 26 in. (45.7 × 66 cm)
ClassificationsDrawing
Object numberUAC2800
DescriptionBrook, Bank, Cedarburg Wisconsin is a watercolor painting that, from a distance, could be a slightly faded photograph of some foliage on the edge of a small brown brook. However, as one steps up to the piece the paint becomes more visible and the dark areas start to look highlighted against the dark green shadows. The river, which from a distance looks sun dappled and brown, becomes a hatching of light and dark pigment. But the experience, which is one of the important factors for Nichols, is communicated by the brushstrokes and the color of the piece. The pastel colors that give it the sense of age or fadedness evoke a sense of an old hike through the woods where this bank was first discovered.
William Nichols studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, earning his B.F.A in 1966 before going on to earn his M.F.A in 1968 from the University of Illinois. Reaching artistic maturity in the 1970’s, his style has been described as “Photo-Impressionist” for the way that Nichols blends the visible brushstroke in the spirit of Monet and keeps a high level of detail in his works. His work seeks to combine the representation of the spaces he paints along with the felt experiences of those places, taking inspiration from the work of Van Gogh. He is represented in many private and public collections, including the Museum of New Art (MONA) in Detroit, Michigan, and the collection of Stanford University.
Written by Alex Heath
