Lowell Nesbitt

(American, 1933–1993)

Lowell Nesbitt was an American painter and printmaker best known for his large-scale depictions of flowers. These frontal paintings of irises, lilies, tulips, orchids, and roses, isolated the flower from space, pressing them against a monochromatic or patterned background. Though grouped into the Photorealist movement, Nesbitt’s stylization of objects was more akin to the works of Robert Indiana, Andy Warhol, and James Rosenquist. Born on October 4, 1933 in Baltimore, MD, he studied at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia and the Royal Academy of Arts in London. In 1958, the Baltimore Museum of Art hosted his first solo show. By 1962, the artist who had mostly worked with abstraction began introducing subject matter to his paintings, including piles of shoes, dogs, empty studios, and building facades. Moving to a massive studio space in Manhattan in 1976, Nesbitt began producing works up to 30 feet long. In 1989, the artist who had promised to gift the Corcoran Gallery of Art $1.5 million after his death, renounced his bequest after the museum infamously cancelled his friend Robert Mapplethorpe’s solo exhibition. Nesbitt later gave the $1.5 million endowment to the Phillips Collection. The artist died on July 8, 1993 in New York, NY. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Detroit Institute of Art, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and The Museum of Modern Art in New York, among others. 

Related Categories

Contemporary Art, Drawings and Works on Paper, Pop Art, Prints and Multiples

Related Artists

Allan D'Arcangelo, Robert Indiana, Robert Motherwell, Larry Rivers, Andy Warhol

Lowell Nesbitt Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Lowell Nesbitt (1,270 results)
JUNGLE, 1965

Lowell Nesbitt

JUNGLE, 1965

Sale Date: March 17, 2022

Auction Closed

GARDENS II, 1992

Lowell Nesbitt

GARDENS II, 1992

Sale Date: March 17, 2022

Auction Closed

FRUIT ON CHECKERED RUG, 1978

Lowell Nesbitt

FRUIT ON CHECKERED RUG, 1978

Sale Date: March 17, 2022

Auction Closed

ECHO IN THE STUDIO (ROTTWEILER), 1974

Lowell Nesbitt

ECHO IN THE STUDIO (ROTTWEILER), 1974

Sale Date: March 17, 2022

Auction Closed

COLORADO LAKE (WITH MONET FIRE 1987)

Lowell Nesbitt

COLORADO LAKE (WITH MONET FIRE 1987)

Sale Date: March 17, 2022

Auction Closed

BOTTLE/BOX/BALLS, 1975

Lowell Nesbitt

BOTTLE/BOX/BALLS, 1975

Sale Date: March 17, 2022

Auction Closed

”STONELEIGH'S” DAHLIA (MASTIFF), 1986

Lowell Nesbitt

”STONELEIGH'S” DAHLIA (MASTIFF), 1986

Sale Date: March 17, 2022

Auction Closed

Canvas and Studio Wall I, 1967

Lowell Nesbitt

Canvas and Studio Wall I, 1967

Sale Date: March 24, 2022

Auction Closed

Two White Flowers, 1978

Lowell Nesbitt

Two White Flowers, 1978

Sale Date: March 16, 2022

Auction Closed

Prints, 1988

Lowell Nesbitt

Prints, 1988

Sale Date: February 23, 2022

Auction Closed

Prints, 1988

Lowell Nesbitt

Prints, 1988

Sale Date: February 23, 2022

Auction Closed

L. Nesbitt (1933-1993) Prints: EPs, Multiples, 1988

Lowell Nesbitt

L. Nesbitt (1933-1993) Prints: EPs, Multiples, 1988

Sale Date: February 23, 2022

Auction Closed

L. Nesbitt (1933-1993) Prints: APs, Multiples, 1988

Lowell Nesbitt

L. Nesbitt (1933-1993) Prints: APs, Multiples, 1988

Sale Date: February 23, 2022

Auction Closed

WHITE POINSETTA; SPOTTED IRIS ON BLUE;..., 1978–1981

Lowell Nesbitt

WHITE POINSETTA; SPOTTED IRIS ON BLUE;..., 1978–1981

Sale Date: February 23, 2022

Auction Closed

Glades National Park, Florida, 1989

Lowell Nesbitt

Glades National Park, Florida, 1989

Sale Date: March 6, 2022

Auction Closed

Multicolor Iris, 1981

Lowell Nesbitt

Multicolor Iris, 1981

Sale Date: February 17, 2022

Auction Closed

Tulip: Sandstone, 1976

Lowell Nesbitt

Tulip: Sandstone, 1976

Sale Date: February 11, 2022

Auction Closed

Black Parrot Tulip, 1981

Lowell Nesbitt

Black Parrot Tulip, 1981

Sale Date: September 22, 2021

Auction Closed

Yellow and Blue Iris, 1981

Lowell Nesbitt

Yellow and Blue Iris, 1981

Sale Date: September 22, 2021

Auction Closed

Peach Lily on Beige, 1980

Lowell Nesbitt

Peach Lily on Beige, 1980

Sale Date: September 22, 2021

Auction Closed

Blue Iris, 1965

Lowell Nesbitt

Blue Iris, 1965

Sale Date: December 15, 2021

Auction Closed

Five Tulip Prints, 1976

Lowell Nesbitt

Five Tulip Prints, 1976

Sale Date: December 15, 2021

Auction Closed

Encounter-Paula Cooper Gallery, 1974

Lowell Nesbitt

Encounter-Paula Cooper Gallery, 1974

Sale Date: November 28, 2021

Auction Closed

GARDEN VISION (THE GREENHOUSE), 1984–1987

Lowell Nesbitt

GARDEN VISION (THE GREENHOUSE), 1984–1987

Sale Date: October 28, 2021

Auction Closed

English (US)

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