Dale Nichols (American, 1904 - 1995), oil on linen portrait of a stylized woman with dark hair surrounded by foliage, 1974. Signed and dated by the artist on the face. Dimensions are: sight size - 19 1/4 in (48.9 cm) tall X 7 1/4 in (18.4 cm) wide; frame measures- 21 in (53.3 cm) tall X 9 in (22.8 cm) wide X 1 1/8 in (2.9 cm) deep. All measurements are approximate. Artist Biography: Dale Nichols (a.k.a. Dale William Nichols), was an American visual artist whose works included illustrations, paintings, lithographs, and wood carvings. His American rural landscape paintings have been compared to Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton. Nichols was born in Nebraska and studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and later became the Carnegie Professor in Art at the University of Illinois. In 1943 Nichols became the Art Editor of the Encyclopedia Britannica. After leaving this post, he spent the remainder of his life traveling to places which included Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alaska, the West Indies and Guatemala. In September 1939 Nichols' was featured in Time Magazine for his American rural landscape paintings. More recently, his art was published on postcards sold by the United States Postal Service in 1995. His work can be found in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Museum of Nebraska Art. Condition: Small discoloration to the linen above the head, 1/8 in X 1/8 in; overall surface wear to the frame. Provenance: From a Northern Virginia collection.