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)
Pink lily on purple, 1974

Lowell Nesbitt

Pink lily on purple, 1974

Sale Date: December 9, 2010

Auction Closed

White iris on blue III, 1981

Lowell Nesbitt

White iris on blue III, 1981

Sale Date: December 9, 2010

Auction Closed

Bluebird, 1981

Lowell Nesbitt

Bluebird, 1981

Sale Date: December 9, 2010

Auction Closed

Four flowers, 1980

Lowell Nesbitt

Four flowers, 1980

Sale Date: December 9, 2010

Auction Closed

White poinsettia, 1978

Lowell Nesbitt

White poinsettia, 1978

Sale Date: December 9, 2010

Auction Closed

Iris on blue, 1979

Lowell Nesbitt

Iris on blue, 1979

Sale Date: December 9, 2010

Auction Closed

The winter iris, 1986

Lowell Nesbitt

The winter iris, 1986

Sale Date: January 20, 2011

Auction Closed

White iris on blue III, 1981

Lowell Nesbitt

White iris on blue III, 1981

Sale Date: February 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Multiflower - 42, 1980

Lowell Nesbitt

Multiflower - 42, 1980

Sale Date: February 3, 2011

Auction Closed

Green iris, 1968

Lowell Nesbitt

Green iris, 1968

Sale Date: March 9, 2011

Auction Closed

White tiger lily, 1986

Lowell Nesbitt

White tiger lily, 1986

Sale Date: February 6, 2011

Auction Closed

Venetian shoes, 1973

Lowell Nesbitt

Venetian shoes, 1973

Sale Date: June 3, 2008

Auction Closed

Tulip, 1980

Lowell Nesbitt

Tulip, 1980

Sale Date: June 2, 2009

Auction Closed

Lin Ville Caverns, 1973

Lowell Nesbitt

Lin Ville Caverns, 1973

Sale Date: June 8, 2010

Auction Closed

Cape Kennedy (portfolio of 8), 1969

Lowell Nesbitt

Cape Kennedy (portfolio of 8), 1969

Sale Date: January 16, 2011

Auction Closed

Three anemonies, 1975

Lowell Nesbitt

Three anemonies, 1975

Sale Date: December 19, 2010

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1958

Lowell Nesbitt

Untitled, 1958

Sale Date: November 13, 2010

Auction Closed

White tiger lily, 1986

Lowell Nesbitt

White tiger lily, 1986

Sale Date: October 25, 2010

Auction Closed

Cape Kennedy (portfolio of of 8), 1969

Lowell Nesbitt

Cape Kennedy (portfolio of of 8), 1969

Sale Date: October 26, 2010

Auction Closed

Rainbow iris, 1986

Lowell Nesbitt

Rainbow iris, 1986

Sale Date: September 27, 2010

Auction Closed

Red electric tulip, 1974

Lowell Nesbitt

Red electric tulip, 1974

Sale Date: September 27, 2010

Auction Closed

Lily, 1964

Lowell Nesbitt

Lily, 1964

Sale Date: September 27, 2010

Auction Closed

Orchid, 1983

Lowell Nesbitt

Orchid, 1983

Sale Date: September 16, 2009

Auction Closed

Cape Kennedy (2 portfolios of 8; 16 works), 1969

Lowell Nesbitt

Cape Kennedy (2 portfolios of 8; 16 works), 1969

Sale Date: June 8, 2010

Auction Closed