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)
Flowers on Blue, 1980

Lowell Nesbitt

Flowers on Blue, 1980

Sale Date: June 30, 2021

Auction Closed

Rust Iris, 1981

Lowell Nesbitt

Rust Iris, 1981

Sale Date: June 17, 2021

Auction Closed

Yellow Iris, 1965

Lowell Nesbitt

Yellow Iris, 1965

Sale Date: June 16, 2021

Auction Closed

Orchid on Gold, 1972

Lowell Nesbitt

Orchid on Gold, 1972

Sale Date: June 10, 2021

Auction Closed

Anemone XXII, 1977

Lowell Nesbitt

Anemone XXII, 1977

Sale Date: June 9, 2021

Auction Closed

IBM #729, 1965

Lowell Nesbitt

IBM #729, 1965

Sale Date: June 10, 2021

Auction Closed

Katz Studio* Katz Studio with Dog* Studio with...

Lowell Nesbitt

Katz Studio* Katz Studio with Dog* Studio with...

Sale Date: June 10, 2021

Auction Closed

LOWELL NESBITT - TWO DOUBLE ANEMONIES, 1977

Lowell Nesbitt

LOWELL NESBITT - TWO DOUBLE ANEMONIES, 1977

Sale Date: May 27, 2021

Auction Closed

LOWELL NESBITT - NOCTURNAL CACTUS FLOWERS, 1988

Lowell Nesbitt

LOWELL NESBITT - NOCTURNAL CACTUS FLOWERS, 1988

Sale Date: May 27, 2021

Auction Closed

LOWELL NESBITT - IRIS WITH FOUR LILIES, 1982

Lowell Nesbitt

LOWELL NESBITT - IRIS WITH FOUR LILIES, 1982

Sale Date: May 27, 2021

Auction Closed

LOWELL NESBITT - ELECTRIC TULIP IN PURPLE,..., 1980

Lowell Nesbitt

LOWELL NESBITT - ELECTRIC TULIP IN PURPLE,..., 1980

Sale Date: May 27, 2021

Auction Closed

LOWELL NESBITT - ELECTRIC RED ROSE STAINED..., 1981

Lowell Nesbitt

LOWELL NESBITT - ELECTRIC RED ROSE STAINED..., 1981

Sale Date: May 27, 2021

Auction Closed

LOWELL NESBITT - ELECTRIC IRIS IN PURPLE,..., 1980

Lowell Nesbitt

LOWELL NESBITT - ELECTRIC IRIS IN PURPLE,..., 1980

Sale Date: May 27, 2021

Auction Closed

LOWELL NESBITT - ELECTRIC BLUE ROSE STAINED..., 1981

Lowell Nesbitt

LOWELL NESBITT - ELECTRIC BLUE ROSE STAINED..., 1981

Sale Date: May 27, 2021

Auction Closed

LOWELL NESBITT - EARTH SEGMENT, 1970

Lowell Nesbitt

LOWELL NESBITT - EARTH SEGMENT, 1970

Sale Date: May 27, 2021

Auction Closed

LOWELL NESBITT - CACAO LEAVES, 1981

Lowell Nesbitt

LOWELL NESBITT - CACAO LEAVES, 1981

Sale Date: May 27, 2021

Auction Closed

Flower pendant brooch, 1978

Lowell Nesbitt

Flower pendant brooch, 1978

Sale Date: May 26, 2021

Auction Closed

Encounter-Paula Cooper Gallery, 1974

Lowell Nesbitt

Encounter-Paula Cooper Gallery, 1974

Sale Date: May 28, 2021

Auction Closed

THE ELEPHANT OF DESIREE, 1986–1987

Lowell Nesbitt

THE ELEPHANT OF DESIREE, 1986–1987

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

A TULIP IN HOLLAND, 1985

Lowell Nesbitt

A TULIP IN HOLLAND, 1985

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

FLOW OF DESIRE

Lowell Nesbitt

FLOW OF DESIRE

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

TREE IN THE SNOW, 1982

Lowell Nesbitt

TREE IN THE SNOW, 1982

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

LIPIZZANER BALLOTADE, 1983

Lowell Nesbitt

LIPIZZANER BALLOTADE, 1983

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

YELLOW AND BLUE JUMPSUITS, 1974

Lowell Nesbitt

YELLOW AND BLUE JUMPSUITS, 1974

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

English (US)

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