Kimon Nicolaїdes (June 10, 1891 – July 18, 1938) was an American artist, educator, and author. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in France as a

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

artist. He taught at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

after the war. Nicolaїdes' book ''The Natural Way to Draw'' (1941) provided a new method of teaching drawing, and was widely used.

Early life

__NOTOC__ Nicolaïdes was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, to Kimon Nicolaïdes, an immigrant from Greece, and Louisa (née McLaughlin), a member of an Irish-American family rooted in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the ...

. His father worked as an importer of Asian artifacts. Nicolaïdes was the third of four children. He made his living initially by a variety of jobs, including picture framing, journalism, and even by appearing once in a film as an extra, playing the role of an art student. Despite his family's opposition, he did in fact become an art student, during which he attended the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he studied with

John Sloan John French Sloan (August 2, 1871 – September 7, 1951) was an American painter and etcher. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Ashcan school of American art. He was also a member of the group known as The Eight (Ashcan School), T ...

George Bridgman George Brant Bridgman (November 5, 1864 – December 16, 1943) was a Canadian-American Painting, painter, writer, and teacher in the fields of anatomy and figure drawing. Bridgman taught anatomy for artists at the Art Students League of New Yor ...

, and Kenneth Hayes Miller. At the Art Students League, he met the avant-garde couple Wilhelmina Weber Furlong and her husband Thomas Furlong.

Career

He served in the U.S. Army in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

during

, where he was one of the first American camouflage artists, serving in the

American Camouflage Corps The American Camouflage Corps was organized in 1917 at the officers' training camp in Plattsburgh (city), New York, Plattsburgh, New York, as the first such corps in the U.S. Army. Its organizers were architect Evarts Tracy of Tracy and Swartwout, ...

alongside

Barry Faulkner Barry Faulkner (full name: Francis Barrett Faulkner; July 12, 1881 – October 27, 1966) was an American artist primarily known for his murals. During World War I, he and sculptor Sherry Edmundson Fry organized artists for training as camouflage ...

Sherry Edmundson Fry Sherry Edmundson Fry (September 29, 1879 – June 9, 1966) was an American sculptor, who also played a prominent role in U.S. Army camouflage during World War I. Early years Fry was born in Creston, Iowa. After completing high school, he enrolle ...

Abraham Rattner Abraham Rattner (July 8, 1895 – February 14, 1978) was an American artist, best known for his richly colored paintings, often with religious subject matter. During World War I, he served in France with the U.S. Army as a camouflage artist. Ear ...

and others. Among his wartime duties, he often worked with contour maps. Nicolaïdes worked as a member of the board of the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation which administered the foundation and managed the Tiffany's Laurelton Hall estate (nicknamed the Oyster Bay estate).

Teaching career

Following World War I, he returned to New York to teach at the

. One of his students was artist Revington Arthur. While teaching, he developed a method of teaching drawing that he shared in the world-famous and widely used ''The Natural Way to Draw'' (1941).

His influence

At the time of Nicolaïdes' death, the manuscript for ''The Natural Way to Draw'' was incomplete. A close friend and former student, Mamie Harmon, oversaw its completion and its publication in 1941. (Harmon's papers are available in the Archives of American Art.) His influence on the teaching of drawing has been long-lasting and substantial, and his book is still in use today. In brief, he taught drawing by (1) exploring the edge of the subject with 'contour drawing', (2) encouraging free and rapid 'gesture drawing', (3) encouraging tonal drawings of weight or mass, and (4) (most importantly) prescribing a daily exercise of 'memory drawing'.

Personal life

In 1922, he married Anna English. They had three sons.

References

External links

Mamie Harmon papers relating to Kimon Nicolaides, 1935-1985

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washing ...

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicolaides, Kimon American art educators 1891 births 1938 deaths Camoufleurs American draughtsmen Art Students League of New York faculty American people of Greek descent 20th-century American people of Greek descent American expatriates in France United States Army personnel of World War I Art Students League of New York alumni