Jackson Lee Nesbitt

Jackson Lee Nesbitt was an American painter and printmaker who depicted Midwestern scenes inspired by his rural upbringing. He belonged to the Regionalist movement of painters centered around Thomas Hart Benton who captured everyday life through realistic yet powerful compositions.

Jackson Lee Nesbitt was born on June 16, 1913, in McAlester, Oklahoma. He was first introduced to art through his father's commercial printing business. He attended the University of Oklahoma before enrolling in the Kansas City Art Institute in 1934. He studied with printmaker John De Martelly and painter Thomas Hart Benton, who quickly became his mentors. He was also introduced to Elaine Thompson, a fashion designer whom he would later marry.

In 1937, De Martelly landed Jackson Lee Nesbitt a commission from the Sheffield Steel Corporation. Nesbitt created a series of prints illustrating the different phases of the steel industry, launching his career and earning him a spot in the 1939 New York World's Fair. The same year, five of his prints were produced by the Associated American Artists, and two were purchased by the Library of Congress. He was soon working with corporations across the Midwest to create illustrations for calendars, Christmas cards, and other publications.

In 1949, Jackson Lee Nesbitt began teaching at the Kansas City Art Institute to supplement his income. As Abstract Expressionism gained popularity, Nesbitt's realistic style fell out of favor and he decided to stop making art. In 1957, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to work as a commercial designer, later opening his own advertising company that operated successfully for thirty years. During this time, he did not paint or create etchings.

In 1984, gallery owners Norman and June Kraeft approached Nesbitt with a proposal to reprint his 1955 etching Old Man with a Violin. The prints were well-received and commercially successful, convincing Nesbitt to resume his artistic practice. In 1987, Nesbitt sold his advertising company and began working with Rolling Stone Press to create lithographs. He then created a series of prints capturing memories and moments from his life, resulting in a solo exhibition in 1993 at the Stone and Press Gallery in New Orleans. Two more prestigious retrospectives followed at the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia, and the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens. 

Jackson Lee Nesbitt died on February 20, 2008. Since the 1980s, appreciation for his work and for the American Regionalist movement has enjoyed a resurgence. Today, Nesbitt's work belongs to museums across the country.