Lowell Nesbitt (1933 - 1993)

25. Dark Red Tulips, 1974, oil on canvas, signed, dated, and titled verso, 40 x 30 inches

$9,000

Lowell Nesbitt was born in Towson, Maryland, in 1933. He graduated from Towson High School in 1951, and soon after attended Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Nesbitt earned his BA in Art and Architecture, graduating in 1955. Following graduation, Nesbitt pursued a career in fine arts after earning a fellowship to study abroad at the Royal College of Art in London where he learned stained glass and printmaking techniques. Nesbitt returned to the United States in 1956 and enlisted in the army until 1958. Upon his return from the military, Nesbitt lived in Washington D.C. and served as a night watchman for the Phillips Collection of Art. Five years later, Nesbitt relocated to New York City.

Nesbitt had his first solo exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art in 1958, showcasing mostly abstract paintings and prints. In 1962, Nesbitt shifted from Abstraction to Realism at the urging of artist Robert Indiana, a change that propelled Nesbitt’s career. In 1964, he had a solo exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., which garnered significant recognition. He became best known for his large Neo Immaculate canvases of architectural elements, buildings, and fruit and flowers — roses, lilies, irises, tulips. 

In the late 1960s, Nesbitt began teaching art at Towson State and Morgan State Colleges located in Maryland, and the School of Visual Arts in New York.  While in New York, Nesbitt was represented by the Stable Gallery, Robert Stefanotti Gallery, and Andrew Crispo Gallery. In 1976, The United States Navy commissioned Nesbitt to paint a large mural on Treasure Island — the largest in the United States at the time. In 1969, NASA appointed Nesbitt the official artist for the Apollo 9 and Apollo 13 space missions, for which he created a series of color lithographs and silkscreens. Nesbitt worked alongside Norman Rockwell, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol while serving as an artist for NASA. In 1980, the United States Postal Service honored Nesbitt by creating four stamps depicting his Neo Immaculate flower paintings. 

Nesbitt died in 1993 at age 59. During his career, Nesbitt had dozens of solo exhibitions across the United States and abroad. His work is in hundreds of private and institutional collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art.