Nita Engle

Nita Engle (September 30, 1925 – August 29, 2019) was an American watercolorist. She worked as an art director and magazine illustrator and exhibited in and out of the United States. Engle received several awards, including an honorary doctorate from Northern Michigan University. A documentary was made about her entitled Wilderness Palette - Nita Engle in Michigan and she wrote the book How to Make a Watercolor Paint Itself: Experimental Techniques for Achieving Realistic Effects.

Biography Nita Joy Engle was born in Michigan in 1925. Her parents were Charles, born in Michigan, and Sally Engle, who immigrated to the United States from Sweden in 1899. Charles was a state police officer and sergeant. Her younger brother is James. Engle attended high school in Marquette, Michigan. She then studied at Northern Michigan University. Engle attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for four years, during which time she studied at Roosevelt University.

She was employed at a Chicago advertising agency as an art director. Then, she obtained full-time positions working for New York and Chicago publications, ranging from "Reader's Digest to Playboy." A retrospective of her work was held at the DeVos Art Museum in Marquette in 2010.

Awards and honors "Artist of the Year", American Artist magazine (1984) Honorary Doctorate, Northern Michigan University (1986) Named Art Master, Art Masters Awards Program, American Artist magazine (1996) U.S. ART's Hall of Fame (1997) E. Scott Michigan Artist Prize for lifelong excellence and achievement

Publications Nita Engle. How to Make a Watercolor Paint Itself: Experimental Techniques for Achieving Realistic Effects. Watson-Guptill Publications; 2007. .