Jack Nichols

Jack Nichols, painter (b at Montréal 16 Mar 1921; d at Ottawa 22 Oct 2009). Nichols taught himself to draw with the encouragement of Louis Muhlstock in Montréal and the instruction of F.H. Varley in Ottawa (1936-40). He was commissioned to paint for the Canadian merchant marine in 1943 and was appointed a navy war artist in 1944. He crossed the Channel on D-Day (6 June) with the British and painted the Normandy landings and actions near Brest. His subjects were always servicemen engaged in their everyday activities. Nichols followed Carl Schaefer in winning the Guggenheim Fellowship for creative painting (1947-48). After the war he taught at UBC and at the University of Toronto. His work is represented in the collections of the Art Gallery of Ontario, The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, The National Gallery of Canada, The National War Museum and in many private collections. In his day he was famous for his melancholy, nostalgic drawings and lithographs.