The "The Passing Of Artist Robert A Nelson" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting in my office at my desk watching the two cats looking out the window to my right.  They enjoy my visits to my office as much as I do, since they know I will prop open the window about three inches to allow them to smell the outdoors as well as watch the birds, squirrels, rabbits and chipmunks that wander nearby.  In front of me are the few pages of notes I have printed out for my story today.  On the top sheet of notes is the name Robert A. Nelson who was a former Millersville art professor and accomplished artist who recently died this past December 2 of 2021.  I recognized his name since he was an art professor at Millersville when I was a student at the University.  He taught a few classes in the same building where I took my Industrial Arts courses.  I knew him well enough to exchange greetings with him from time to time, but never had him as a teacher.  His obituary said that he died at his home in Lakeside, Oregon at the age of 96.  Seems he had recently recovered from a breakthrough infection of COVID-19, which had left his heart in a weakened state.  He is survived by his wife Louise Chintz-Nelson, son Mark and his wife Anita and his son Max and his "adopted art-son" Patrick O'Loughlin.  He was predeceased by his son Zack.  Bob studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and later taught at the school as well as at Cleveland State University, Winnipeg University and Millersville University where he was awarded professor emeritus status in 1997.  

Mr. Robert A. Nelson

I always knew him as Mr. Nelson since I never felt comfortable calling him by his first name.  It was said by many that he worked on his art every day of his life, even into the last few weeks of his life.  This past October the Lancaster Newspapers did an interview with him and he told them "I'm always here in front of the drawing board.  Locally, he exhibited his work at the Karen Andrea Fine Art Gallery in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  She had worked closely with him for over a decade and has said that, "I will work tirelessly to tell the world about Robert A. Nelson and share his legacy."  Mr. Nelson's last show in the downtown gallery at 146 N. Prince Street recently closed, but there are still a few of his works at the gallery.  

"Dorothy's New Dog Collage" by Robert A. Nelson

The exhibit was titled,"Animals" and is considered some of the best work he has ever exhibited, even though it all was done at the age of 96.  Natural Light Films is currently working on a documentary about Mr. Nelson's life and work.  Mr. Nelson and his wife, Louise, recently lived on a quiet farm in the mountains of Lakeside, Oregon with his dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, gun-toting dinosaurs, astronaut rhinos and axe-wielding frogs.  Some of these animals live in their barn while others live on Mr. Nelson's drawing table.  When home in Oregon, he usually works at least eight hours a days so his supply of ideas will not be interrupted.  He lives in an "ideas world" where at times he may open the door and see something he hasn't seen before.  Mr. Nelson and his art gallery friend Karen have worked together on exhibits for more than a decade.  

Print titled "Feeding Dorothy's Dogs" from 2018 in colored pencils

She regularly exhibits his work and says that it's never-ending.  She says that he just kept getting better with more detail, more precision, stronger coloring, more layers to his stories and much more complexity, like himself!  Karen estimates that Mr. Nelson's body of work numbers close to 5,000 pieces which would include drawings, collages and prints.  She also says that his body of work is timeless and otherworldly and is both beautiful and terrifying.  She said that his mixed-media lithograph collage "Bird Hog" may reveal his time working as a draftsman at a Chicago meat-packing plant while his collage/etching "Trainbomb Toot" and the lithograph "Fly Capturing Zeppelin" may pull from his experience drawing airplane engines and flying planes for the Air Force during WWII.  One of his latest works, a lead pencil and colored pencil study titled "Fall of Icarus" showcases his knowledge of the Greek myth and his Da Vinci-like still capturing the human anatomy.  Mr. Nelson would wake up every morning, grab  a cup of coffee and get to work.  Much of his art education has come from dedication to creating artwork as well as visits to some of the finest art museums in the world.  

Another print from 2021.

He also said that he was so inspired by a da Vinci work in a gallery in Uffizi, Italy that when the guard wasn't watching, he reached out and touched the piece.  He also said that he always wore dark glasses when he went to the museum so no one could see the tears running down his cheeks.  Another of his favorite paintings was John Singleton Copley's "Watson and the Shark" which was painted in 1778 and featured a shark attack.  Mr. Nelson said the painting combined the beauty and horror that Nelson uses in his work.  Once in Spain the power went out and Mr. Nelson said he drew from candlelight just as old masters did years ago.  While at Millersville he brought that same experience to his students in his class.  Every student had to bring pieces from at least 10 candles which they used for figure drawing.  He would often demonstrate figure drawings and when finished demonstrating, crumble them up and throw them in the trash can.  He found out later that students were going into the wastebasket and pulling these things out and flattening them or ironing them until they were more or less flat again.  Can you imagine how much one of those drawings may be worth today!  He seems to always be in front of the drawing board, but when questioned by his art students about a career in art, we would tell them to "Go into dentistry."  He spent his lifelong career in front of the drawing board.  He will most certainly be missed by many.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.