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. 

Lowell Nesbitt Artworks

Lowell Nesbitt (1,270 results)
Apollo mission: simulator, 1969

Lowell Nesbitt

Apollo mission: simulator, 1969

Sale Date: February 23, 2012

Auction Closed

Apollo mission: spacesuit checkout astronaut , 1969

Lowell Nesbitt

Apollo mission: spacesuit checkout astronaut , 1969

Sale Date: February 23, 2012

Auction Closed

Violet iris, 1981

Lowell Nesbitt

Violet iris, 1981

Sale Date: February 23, 2012

Auction Closed

Four flowers, 1980

Lowell Nesbitt

Four flowers, 1980

Sale Date: January 26, 2012

Auction Closed

Iris on blue III

Lowell Nesbitt

Iris on blue III

Sale Date: January 26, 2012

Auction Closed

Three tulips on black, 1980

Lowell Nesbitt

Three tulips on black, 1980

Sale Date: January 26, 2012

Auction Closed

Lilium, 1980

Lowell Nesbitt

Lilium, 1980

Sale Date: January 26, 2012

Auction Closed

Pink rose, 1976

Lowell Nesbitt

Pink rose, 1976

Sale Date: December 15, 2011

Auction Closed

Daffodils, 1980

Lowell Nesbitt

Daffodils, 1980

Sale Date: December 15, 2011

Auction Closed

Water lilies, 1981

Lowell Nesbitt

Water lilies, 1981

Sale Date: December 14, 2011

Auction Closed

Yellow rose, 1982

Lowell Nesbitt

Yellow rose, 1982

Sale Date: December 14, 2011

Auction Closed

Red rose, 1980

Lowell Nesbitt

Red rose, 1980

Sale Date: December 14, 2011

Auction Closed

White and violet iris, 1982

Lowell Nesbitt

White and violet iris, 1982

Sale Date: December 14, 2011

Auction Closed

Iris on beige, 1980

Lowell Nesbitt

Iris on beige, 1980

Sale Date: December 14, 2011

Auction Closed

Double iris, 1972

Lowell Nesbitt

Double iris, 1972

Sale Date: December 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Light pink rose, 1979

Lowell Nesbitt

Light pink rose, 1979

Sale Date: November 13, 2011

Auction Closed

Apollo mission: Firing room, 1969

Lowell Nesbitt

Apollo mission: Firing room, 1969

Sale Date: November 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Apollo mission: Working platforms, 1969

Lowell Nesbitt

Apollo mission: Working platforms, 1969

Sale Date: November 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Two violet irises, 1981

Lowell Nesbitt

Two violet irises, 1981

Sale Date: November 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Red poppies, 1979

Lowell Nesbitt

Red poppies, 1979

Sale Date: November 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Iris, 1981

Lowell Nesbitt

Iris, 1981

Sale Date: November 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Light pink rose, 1979

Lowell Nesbitt

Light pink rose, 1979

Sale Date: October 16, 2011

Auction Closed

Bird of paradise, 1975

Lowell Nesbitt

Bird of paradise, 1975

Sale Date: October 12, 2011

Auction Closed

Nesbitt Studio Window (59 Wooster St., N.Y.C.), 1972

Lowell Nesbitt

Nesbitt Studio Window (59 Wooster St., N.Y.C.), 1972

Sale Date: October 25, 2011

Auction Closed