Alfred D. Nicholson Jr.

Local Artist
 

Alfred D. Nicholson Jr., 80, of Bridgeton and formerly of Cape May County and Philadelphia died early Saturday morning July 18, 2009 at the Hospice Inpatient Unit at the Bridgeton Community Health Center.

A man of distinguished good looks, charm and personal magnetism, his life was one of dedication to art. In the face of several obstacles, his dedication to art paralleled that of the legendary French painter, Paul Cezanne. Mr. Nicholson was a man often equated to his Quaker forbears; persons of integrity and simplicity who helped build this nation.

Born in Paris, France of American parents, he grew up in Moorestown and the Devon section on Philadelphia's Main Line. After attending the Hill School in Pottstown, PA, he matriculated at Princeton University where he pursued his passionate interest in painting; studying under H. Lester Cooke in the college's creative arts program. Like his art historian father, the younger Nicholson enjoyed the Old Masters, but for him these paintings served as examples for his own creative work, not as the subject of scholarly inquiry.

Mr. Nicholson left Princeton at the end of his junior year to enlist in the US Air Force. He served in Korea during the early 1950s. Upon fulfilling his military obligations, he returned to the Philadelphia area and studied painting at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University and also at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Following his education, Mr. Nicholson's life was dedicated to being a poetic landscape painter. As an independent painter, he lived in Cape May County where he knew the most beautiful vistas and would capture their essence in his work. His paintings eloquently reflected his direct interaction and observance of the natural world which he revered. He was influenced by the work of Corot and Turner and he was regarded as a master of the portrayal of trees. The unique techniques he developed over the years, created a layered effect, rich in tones and atmospheric light. He evoked a sense of spirituality in his work and his paintings were a reflection of his diligent efforts to preserve many of the unspoiled resources of nature in both Cape May and Cumberland counties. His wife, Mary Lou Nicholson, Ph.D., became his most staunch ally and supported, not only of his ambitions as an artist, but as a preservationist also.

Survivors include his wife Mary Lou Nicholson, her three children, Michael A. Sheston and his partner Vincent Dean, Jean Anthony and her husband Paul, Ann Ward and her husband Joseph, four grandchildren, Emily Gomme and her husband Giles, Joseph, Patrick and Natalie Ward and one sister, Ann Nicholson Baker. Mr. Nicholson was predeceased by his parents, Alfred D. Nicholson Sr. and Mary Wood Nicholson.

Services will be held privately at the Freitag Funeral Home, 137 W. Commerce St., Bridgeton.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested in Mr. Nicholson's memory to the SJ Health Care - HospiceCare, PO Box 160, Bridgeton, NJ 08302.

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