Name/Title
Nichols, John Crampton (1899-1963) "Wash Day in the Country"Entry/Object ID
2025.900.FA18224Tags
WatercolorDescription
This view adopts several conventions of folk painting: a non-linear perspective, extremely simplified renderings of structures and people; and a “coverage” of the scene that feels complete. The style was one of several for Nichols. Perhaps most intriguing here is a network of lines, or tributaries, that link together disparate elements. Smoke from a house at bottom reaches a vegetable plot, but goes no further; the trunk of a large tree at center continues upward as a road, and its branches all serve as “paths” to different objects in the painting. The wash line at bottom left is just one of many lines.Collection
Mt. Morris TB Hospital FAP CollectionMade/Created
Artist
Nichols, John CramptonDate made
1937Condition
Overall Condition
Very PoorDate Examined
Jul 29, 2025Notes
9 scratches lower left and right corners/center bottom/top upper right and left corners, 1 hole upper right corner/ dents/fading, center/upper left corner/throughout entirelyRecommendations
needs frame, restorationProvenance
Provenance Detail
Created under the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project (1930s–1940s), this collection of easel paintings was originally installed at the Mount Morris Tuberculosis Sanitorium in Livingston County, New York. Following the sanitorium’s closure in 1970, the artworks were abandoned and remained in storage until their rediscovery decades later. Now preserved and exhibited by the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts (GVCA), the collection is housed at the New Deal Museum in Mount Morris. Current efforts include digitization, high-resolution photography, and the creation of an online archive to ensure long-term public access and research availability.General Notes
Note Type
Cataloging NoteNote
See the entry titled 'New Deal Collection Documents' for supporting documents, and general historic and research information.
