“Canoe & occupants, en route, Trinity,” 1906. Grace Nicholson is in front.
Grace Nicholson (December 31, 1877 – August 31, 1948) was an American art collector and art dealer, specializing in
Native American and Chinese handicrafts. The space she originally designed for her shop is now home to the
USC Pacific Asia Museum in
Pasadena, California.
Early life and education
Grace Nicholson was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, daughter of Franklin Nicholson and Rose Dennington Nicholson. Her father was an attorney, and her mother trained as an educator. Rose Nicholson died from complications following Grace's birth; when Grace was a teen, her father also died, and she was sent to live with her paternal grandparents. They both died in 1901, leaving her an inheritance.[1]
Indian basket collection of Miss Grace Nicholson, ca.1900 (CHS-2139)
In 1901, using her inheritance, Nicholson moved to California, and soon opened a small shop in Pasadena, selling
Native American handicrafts such as baskets and weaving.[3] She hired crafters to teach traditional beadwork and other skills; she rented space to local artists. She traveled extensively in the rural western and Southwestern United States, worked with local dealers to build her collection, and corresponded with East Coast collectors to sell the objects.[4] She personally photographed and catalogued her holdings; she also built an extensive photographic record beyond the objects, especially of the
Klamath River people, with whom she had frequent dealings.[5][6] She developed longterm relationships with some favorite crafters, well beyond ordinary business dealings: she paid for eye surgery for one ailing basketmaker,[7] and paid college tuition for another young woman.[8]
In 1924, she designed a new building for her collections, which (reflective of changing fashions) had begun to focus on Asian art.[12][13] The architectural firm of
Marston, Van Pelt & Maybury worked with Nicholson to realize her vision. Her design, nicknamed the "Treasure House," borrowed elements from buildings she had seen in
China.[14] The building was opened as an art gallery and shop in 1925, although the interior garden courtyard was not completed until 1929.
Her building was deeded to the City of Pasadena in 1943, but she continued to live in her private apartment on the second floor until her death from cancer in 1948.[12][26]
Personal life
Nicholson was an active charter member of the
Zonta Club of Pasadena, and hosted meetings at her home, including a 1929 Christmas party attended by
Amelia Earhart.[27]
A Grace Nicholson scholarship for women students who demonstrate artistic talent was established at
Scripps College in 1951.[31]
In 2010, over two hundred sacred and ceremonial items collected by Nicholson and purchased from her by
George Gustav Heye were repatriated to the
Yurok people, one of the largest
repatriations in the history of the National Museum of the American Indian.[32][33]
^Rhonda Packer and Tamar Frankiel (1995). "Natural Sympathies: Anglo Women and Indians in the West, 1895–1920," International Social Science Review 70(3&4): 69.
^"Scientists See Burbank's Work: Members of Anthropological Society Visit Horticulturist at his Santa Rosa Home," San Francisco Chronicle (September 2, 1905): 3.
^"She Adds Another 'Treasure' to Store: Pasadena Art Dealer Favors Chandler Car," Los Angeles Times (August 16, 1925): H15.
^"Display of Hawaiian Paintings Announced," Los Angeles Times (February 25, 1928): A5.
^Antony Anderson, "Of Art and Artists: The Wanderer; The Week in the Local Galleries," Los Angeles Times (15 March 1925): 26.
^Antony Anderson, "Of Art and Artists: The Pier," Los Angeles Times(March 22, 1925): 34.
^Antony Anderson, "Three Exhibits at Grace Nicholson's," Los Angeles Times (March 14, 1926): C19.
^Arthur Millier, "Art and Artists: Of Interest to Artists," Los Angeles Times (October 9, 1927): 30.
^"Art Exhibitions in the Southland," Los Angeles Times (December 11, 1927): C32.
^"Art and Artists: Current Art Exhibitions," Los Angeles Times (December 2, 1928): C25.
^"Current Art Exhibitions," Los Angeles Times (April 7, 1929): C16.
^"Age and Youth From East to West," Los Angeles Times (May 19, 1929): 18.
^Antony Anderson, "Of Art and Artists," Los Angeles Times (January 3, 1926): C26.
^"Art and Artists: Great Exhibit in Pasadena; a Group of Old Tapestries/ Rare Coptic, Persian, and Chinese Ceramics; the Jaehne Collection of Japanese Crafts," Los Angeles Times (March 18, 1928): C16.
^"Miss Grace Nicholson," The New York Times (September 2, 1948): 23.