Jack Nichols

Jack Nichols (1921–2009) was a Canadian artist from Montreal, Quebec. He was a painter and printmaker whose main interest in his art was people in the metropolitan scene. He was called by critics "a chronicler of the human condition" and compassionate in his depictions. During the Depression, since his parents were dead, Nichols had to leave school at 14 years of age and work at various jobs. From 1931 to 1939, he lived in Ottawa where he was instructed in drawing by F.H. Varley who was in the city as a teacher at the Ottawa Art Association (1936–1940). Most of his works depict the landing operations at Normandy and destroyer movements off Brest. His drawings of these subjects are in the collection of Canadian War Museum. In 1947, a Guggenheim Fellowship enabled him to study print-making and work with muralists in the United States. Afterwards, he went to Mexico where he studied the application of synthetic resins to art work at the National Polytechnical School in Mexico City. His works are in the National Gallery of Canada, Canadian War Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Vancouver Art Gallery and many other collections. the Canadian Group of Painters, the Canadian Society of Graphic Art and was a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He taught at the Vancouver School of Art; Northern Vocational School, Toronto; University of Toronto; Art Gallery of Toronto as it was then called; and at the Ontario College of Art.

Publications Jack Nichols, "Lithographs for Canadians", Journal, Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, vol. 26, no. 1, Jan 1949.

Legacy In 1998, a travelling show titled Memento Mori: The War Drawings of Jack Nichols was organized by Laura Brandon of the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa. In 2015, a movie called Jack Nichols: Mystery & Light was made for Youtube.

Awards 1945 prize for Rescue at Sea shown at the Canadian Group of Painters exhibition;