Lowell Blair Nesbitt (October 4, 1933 â July 8, 1993) was an American painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stained glass artist, and sculptor. He served as the official artist for NASA during the Apollo 9 and Apollo 13 space missions. In 1976, the United States Navy commissioned him to create a monumental mural for the administration building on Treasure Island in San Francisco, described at the time as the largest mural in the United States. In 1980, the United States Postal Service issued four postage stamps depicting his paintings.
Lowell Blair Nesbitt was born in Towson, Maryland, to Frank E. Nesbitt and Mildred C. Nesbitt (née Carback). He spent his early years in the Stoneleigh Historic District of Towson, where his family home was located at 708 Stoneleigh Road.
He completed his secondary education at Towson High School in 1951 and subsequently earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1955. He continued his formal training through advanced study in stained glass and printmaking at the Royal College of Art in London, England, where he held a fellowship from 1955 to 1956.
Nesbitt enlisted in the United States Army in 1956 and served until 1958. Upon returning to civilian life, he resided in Washington, D.C., where he was employed as a night watchman at The Phillips Collection. In 1963, he relocated permanently to New York City to pursue a full time career as a visual artist.
In 1958 the Baltimore Museum of Art hosted the first solo museum exhibit that Nesbitt was to have in his lengthy career, but it was in 1964 with his debut at the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Museum) in Washington, D.C. that Nesbitt received greater recognition. The array of botanical works most likely would not have been created had it had not been for the beckoning of fellow artist Robert Indiana, who, in 1962, after viewing some of Lowell Nesbitt's abstract paintings drawings and prints, suggested that he attempt to make a conversion from the abstraction which NesbittâÂÂs career had been focused on pre-1962, to the style of realism.
Nesbitt was often classified as a Photorealist artist, though he fought inclusion with this group of artists throughout his career. Nesbitt established himself as an artist who could employ both diversity of technique and subject matter while creating paintings, drawings and prints using studio interiors, articles of clothing, piles of shoes, x-ray figures (Nesbitt was the first highly recognized artist to use this subject matter since the artists of the New Zealand region unknowingly painted "x-ray style" figures at the early portion of the last millennium), caverns, ruins, landscapes, flowers, groupings of fruits and vegetables, and electronic components (he is credited for being the first artist to use computer parts as subject matter for his artwork). He also used his pet dogs in addition to birds, reptiles, various mammals and the Neoclassical facades of SoHo's 19th century cast-iron buildings and several of Manhattan's major bridges, in addition to a number of series in which he incorporated numerous Victorian staircases, and other interior scenes as subject matter for his artwork. His last series in the 1980s, titled the âÂÂimpossible seriesâ was a grouping of surrealistic landscapes paintings and drawings.
To honor Nesbitt's contributions to the art world, in 1980, the United States Postal Service issued four stamps based on his floral paintings. He also served as the official artist for the NASA space flights of Apollo 9 and Apollo 13. Nesbitt was found dead in his New York studio in 1993 at the age of 59. Police stated he died of natural causes.
Lowell Nesbitt was widely known for creating highly distinctive homes and studios that functioned as extensions of his artistic practice. Both his New York City studio building and his later country residence in Carmel, New York, were extensively documented in the New York Times and Architectural Digest reflecting his interest in large scale space, architecture, horticulture, and experimental living environments.
New York City studio building
In the mid 1970s, Nesbitt undertook a major renovation of an 1858 cast iron building in the Meatpacking District of ManhattanâÂÂs West Village, converting a former police stable and earlier slaughterhouse into a combined studio, residence, and exhibition space. The building had previously housed coach making operations, and its industrial history remained evident in features such as cattle ramps between floors.
Working with architects Edward S. Knowles and John Immitt and interior designer Mara Palmer, Nesbitt raised the roof of the three story structure, added a fourth floor sunroom, and installed a large central skylight. The renovation took approximately fourteen months and resulted in roughly 12,500 square feet of space. The skylight, constructed by greenhouse specialists Lord and Burnham in collaboration with JAMCO Construction, measured approximately 27 by 27 feet and rose more than fifty feet above the ground floor, making it one of the largest skylights in New York City at the time.
At the center of the building was an indoor swimming pool installed at ground level and surrounded by large scale paintings. Due to city regulations, the pool was limited to a maximum depth of four feet and restricted to personal use. All major mechanical systems were newly installed and largely left exposed, reinforcing the buildingâÂÂs industrial character. Materials from the former stable, including metal stall railings, were recycled as roof deck railings or repurposed as furniture.
The scale of the structure directly supported NesbittâÂÂs artistic production. He worked on paintings measuring up to thirty five feet in length and often produced works in series that required long, uninterrupted walls for viewing. The building also functioned as an informal gallery space, where Nesbitt occasionally exhibited the work of out of town artists in addition to his own. The interior was densely landscaped with plants and supported by a small staff, reflecting his desire to combine urban living with elements of a natural environment.
Within the broader context of artist led adaptive reuse in Lower Manhattan during the 1960s through early 1980s, NesbittâÂÂs West Village studio stood out for its scale and degree of integration. Whereas many artists of the period occupied single floor lofts, Nesbitt converted an entire multi story industrial building into a unified working environment encompassing studio space, installation and display walls, storage, exhibition areas, and residential quarters. Architectural features such as the oversized skylight, vertically open interior, and exceptionally long walls were designed specifically to accommodate monumental painting. In this respect, the building anticipated a later pattern among prominent contemporary artists who established expansive urban live work compounds tailored to large scale production and display.
Carmel, New York residence
By the early 1980s, Nesbitt began spending increasing time outside the city and commissioned a second major residence in Carmel, New York, approximately two hours north of Manhattan. The house, named Stoneleigh after the community near Baltimore where he was raised, was situated on twenty eight acres of wooded land overlooking a ravine near the White Pond Reservoir.
Designed by architect Preston Phillips, the Carmel house was conceived as a solar powered retreat emphasizing energy efficiency, compact living, and integration with the natural landscape. Nesbitt instructed that the house be largely energy self sufficient, a decision shaped by the remote site and limited access for conventional fuel delivery. The structure incorporated passive solar systems including a large south facing greenhouse and a Trombe wall, both designed to collect, store, and redistribute heat throughout the house.
The greenhouse also served as a growing environment for tropical plants that Nesbitt photographed and used as source material for his paintings. Heat collected during the day was stored in a rock bed beneath the greenhouse floor and circulated as needed, allowing stable temperatures even in winter. The house achieved partial energy self sufficiency, supplemented by wood burning fireplaces and limited electrical backup.
Stoneleigh was built largely from materials found on site, including stone from the surrounding woods, and cascaded down the hillside on three levels. Interior spaces followed an open plan with minimal partitions, integrating plant life, ponds, and natural rock formations throughout the house. Despite its modest footprint of approximately 1,500 square feet, the use of cathedral ceilings, pocket doors, and cantilevered walkways created a sense of openness. Adjacent to the house was a pyramid shaped studio building that was designed in a similar spirit of energy self sufficiency.
The Carmel residence marked a shift toward a more secluded and environmentally focused lifestyle. While Nesbitt had previously entertained large gatherings in New York City, the country house was intended for solitude and small groups. At the time of its completion, it remained a part time residence, with plans for additional studio space and further renewable energy systems.
In 1989, Lowell Nesbitt became publicly associated with the national controversy surrounding the exhibition Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Moment after the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., canceled its scheduled presentation amid political pressure and growing debate over public arts funding and obscenity. The decision drew widespread criticism from artists, curators, and museum professionals and led to an organized boycott that disrupted the CorcoranâÂÂs exhibition schedule and public standing.
NesbittâÂÂs involvement was reported prominently in September 1989, when he withdrew the Corcoran from his estate plans in protest of the cancellation. According to The Washington Post, Nesbitt had intended to leave the museum property, artworks, and intellectual property rights valued at more than one million dollars (approximately $2.5 million USD in 2025), a bequest he rescinded following the CorcoranâÂÂs actions. Nesbitt stated that his decision was not based on personal allegiance to Mapplethorpe but on what he viewed as a fundamental breach of the museumâÂÂs responsibility to defend artistic freedom.
When the Corcoran later issued a public statement expressing regret for having âÂÂinadvertently offendedâ members of the arts community and affirming its support for freedom of artistic expression, Nesbitt responded cautiously. He acknowledged the statement but declined to reinstate the bequest, indicating that the institutionâÂÂs commitment would need to be demonstrated through future actions rather than declarations. Subsequent reporting noted that NesbittâÂÂs withdrawal of the bequest was among several tangible consequences of the controversy, which also included resignations, canceled exhibitions, and sustained protests.
Contemporary newspaper coverage situated the Corcoran controversy within a broader national climate of escalating scrutiny of contemporary art. The Mapplethorpe exhibition became a focal point in debates over the National Endowment for the Arts, as members of Congress sought to impose restrictions on funding for work deemed obscene, raising concerns about political interference in cultural institutions.
The implications of the controversy extended beyond Washington. In 1990, the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati and its director were indicted on obscenity charges for exhibiting MapplethorpeâÂÂs photographs, a trial that ended in acquittal and was widely interpreted as a significant affirmation of artistic freedom for museums and curators nationwide. The case reinforced the Mapplethorpe exhibitionâÂÂs role as a defining episode in late twentieth century debates over freedom of expression in the visual arts.
Within NesbittâÂÂs biography, the Mapplethorpe scandal stands out as a rare instance of direct public advocacy. By using a planned bequest as leverage, he aligned himself with artists and institutions resisting censorship and underscored the ethical and financial stakes involved when museums yield to external political pressure. Contemporary reporting treated NesbittâÂÂs action as emblematic of the broader response from the art community, illustrating how disputes over a single exhibition reverberated through questions of institutional independence, donor influence, and the limits of artistic freedom in publicly funded spaces.
Lowell NesbittâÂÂs artwork is owned by hundreds of public collections worldwide. Those collections include, American Embassy art program; The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, New York; Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland; Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio; Castle Gandolfo, Rome, Collection of the Vatican Museums; Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (transferred to the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.); Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas; Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan; Ulrich Museum, Wichita State University, Kansas; United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.; Federal Reserve Bank, Baltimore, Maryland; Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Virginia; Harvard Art Museums, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas; Goucher College, Baltimore, Maryland; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Canegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C.; Israel Museum, Jerusalem; John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla, California; Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Orlando Museum of Art, Florida; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston; Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, New York; Miami-Dade Public Library System, Miami, Florida; Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin; Morris Museum of Art, Morristown, New Jersey; Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C.; National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; American Art Museum, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Te Papa, Wellington, New Zealand; New York City Center, New York; Oberlin College, Ohio; Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Tulsa; Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, New York; Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Germany; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania; The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.; Centre national des arts plastiques, Paris, France; Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.; Saginaw Art Museum, Saginaw, Michigan; San Antonio Museum of Art, Texas; SEB Group, Goteborg, Sweden; Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum; Tucson Museum of Art, Arizona; Twelfth Naval District, Treasure Island Museum, San Francisco, CA; United States Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.; University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland; University of North Texas, Denton, Texas; University of Virginia, Charlottesville; Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia; Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts; and Yale University Art Gallery, Yale University, New Haven, CT.
His solo exhibitions were held in the following galleries (partial listing)âÂÂ