Question; At what point does art rise above pavement art for tourists to high art that deserves it’s place among the best of it’s time? Possible Answer: When it is this good. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
This stamp comes from an issue of impressionist harbor scenes of Douglas on the Isle of Man. Perhaps commissioned for the stamp I thought, to introduce the story of interesting ships that had passed through long ago. Such is a staple of the stamps of the tiny islands where the sun has yet on the Empire. This is different though, a local artist from 100 years before that had raised the game of art on the island.
Todays stamp is issue A96, a 29p stamp issued by the Isle of Man on February 18th, 1987. It was a four stamp issue in various denominations displaying the work of artist John Miller Nicholson. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 90 cents whether used or unused.
John Miller Nicholson was born on the Isle of Man in 1840, the son of a house painter. His early career was as a draughtman. He had a hobby though of sketching in pencil the people and places of the island. A trip to Italy had been transformative. He had been schooled there in the technics and color choices of the impressionist art movement. He also returned with a load of watercolours showing scenes of Venice. His technic for painting was somewhat unusual. He would sketch his subject in pencil making notes as to color choices. He then returned to his workroom where his canvas was already mounted in his frame.
Word of what he was achieving got out. The then Governor of the Isle of Man Loch had the idea that the island should be a natural home for artists so founded an art school that John was involved with over a long period. Soon there were also showing of his art in some of London’s finer galleries but John did not have the skills of self promotion necessary to be recognized among the top painters in Victorian Era UK. He was recognized at home though with several posthumous biographies written and the Manx Museum acquiring an extensive collection of his work from the trust of a local collector.
There is a further connection to postage stamps beyond this stamp issue. His grandson John Hobson Nicholson was also an important local artist. He also was a stamp designer for many of the early issues of the Isle of Man.
Well my drink is empty, so please come back Monday when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.