Nick Brigante
Born: Padua, Italy 1895
Nick was two years old when his family immigrated from Italy to Los Angeles, California in 1897. Around 1914 Brigante began studying art history with Rex Slinkard and became interested in ancient Chinese watercolor painting and their philosophical approach to art. Also, Brigante studied under Stanton MacDonald Wright and he joined the Art Students League In Los Angeles, California. After serving in World War I Nick spent a few years in New York City. He then returned to Los Angeles and continued to produce art.
During the 1930s and 1940s Brigante produced several major works consisting of large multi-panel paintings. When assembled and hung, they tell an epic story. One of his works, “Nature and Struggling, Imperious Man” is twenty-one feet long and three feet high when assembled. His style from this period shows the ancient Chinese influences. Since that time Brigante has painted in a much more fluid style, working with extremely wet watercolors and ink. For the most part, representational images have been eliminated from his paintings. Brigante was one of the few artists in California who experimented with abstract painting and exhibited modern art during the 1920s and 1930s.
Brigante is a member of the Pasadena Society of Artists and the California Water Color Society. Eighty-four of his drawings, watercolors and etchings are in the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Brigante has exhibited locally and nationally.
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Biographic Information from Pasadena Society of Artist Membership roster and unidentified biographical listing and from “The California Style, California Watercolor Artists, 1925-1955”, By Gordon T. McClelland & Jay T. Last, Hillcrest Press, Beverly Hills, California Copyright 1985.
Artist’s Photo Courtesy of PSA President Jae Carmichael
"Crucifixion” Present location unknown, formerly Immaculate Heart College, Los Angeles, California, Image from “California Art, 450 Years of Painting and Other Media” By Nancy Dustin Wall Moure, Copyright 1998, Dustin Publications, Los Angeles, California.
“Early Western Activities” from “The California Style, California Watercolor Artists, 1925-1955”, By Gordon T. McClelland & Jay T. Last, Hillcrest Press, Beverly Hills, California Copyright 1985.
“Cynical” image from “75 Works 75 Years Collecting The Art Of California” Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, California Copyright 1993, Gift of Francisca Virginia Brigante, Maryland |
