Peter Nielsen (1873-1965) (Eagle Rock)

Eagle Rock artist who frequently visited, even resided for extended periods in Morro Bay in the 1930s and 1940s.

“Peter Nielsen is our only Danish artist. He was born on the Island of Zealand, Denmark. Although he had a mania for drawing and painting from the time he was a tiny child, he had no thought of becoming an artist. His father was a locksmith and his big ambition was to be a mechanic…

When Nielsen was fifteen years of age his mother brought him to the United States. Chicago was their destination, and it proved to be their home for the next thirty years. Young Nielsen had not studied art in Europe. His decision to become an artist was reached after he had arrived in Chicago. He entered the Chicago Art Institute and studied there until he became convinced that he needed work, instruction, and atmosphere which could not be obtained in the United States. Therefore he went to Europe for study in Berlin, Germany, and Zurich, Switzerland. Zurich at that time was especially art conscious, and was so renowned for the art treasures to be found there and the manner in which art was being employed in architecture that artists from all over the world made it their mecca.

Needless to say that upon Nielsen’s return to America his consuming ambition was to be able to devote his life to the production of fine art; but unfortunately for the fine art (and fortunately for him) there was in Chicago a little Danish girl who also had been born in the southern part of Denmark. With her Nielsen found many things in common. So many, in fact, that he decided she was originally intended to be Mrs. Nielsen, and Mrs. Peter Nielsen she became. With a wife to provide for, the commercial training in art which Nielsen had received, began to come in pretty handy, but he did not forget his painting. Saturday afternoons always found him out in the open with his easel. Cold had no terrors for him and near-zero weather often found him painting the beauties of an eastern winter scene. When the kiddies began to arrive and as necessity caused Nielsen to turn more and more to commercial work, the fine painting was neglected in proportion, but not entirely. He still continued to paint in his spare moments and he exhibited his work a great deal. He was becoming quite well known for his fine art and also for his ability along the lines of commercial art.

His opportunity to come to California finally came. A California artist [Edgar Payne] had received a commission to paint several large wall decorations for an eastern hotel. The task was too great for one man to accomplish, and he engaged several other artists to assist him.

The paintings were to be made in Glendale and shipped east. Nielsen was one of the artists he called to assist him. Nielsen did not decide to make California his home immediately; neither did he forget that it had appealed to him as an ideal place to make a home. Subsequent trips to the Southwest strengthened his fondness for California and in addition he sensed that here there was a growing appreciation for things pertaining to art. Nor does he now feel that this promotion was unfounded. He says that today there is much more real art appreciation in Los Angeles than there is in the eastern cities. This, he says, is apparent in the way art is being utilized in the architecture of our newer buildings, and the immense amounts being spent to secure worthy artists to design the interiors of our public buildings.

Nielsen is very optimistic in regard to the artistic future of Los Angeles. Eight and a half years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Nielsen and their children arrived in Los Angeles intending to make it their home. They carried out their intention and chose Eagle Rock as the ideal ‘home town.’ They now reside in a lovely home at 5192 Ellenwood Drive. Although Mrs. Nielsen admits a wee longing for the east, Peter Nielsen is perfectly content to satisfy such cravings as he may have by making occasional trips to those parts of the country which may call to him. Commercial art is still a necessary but welcome evil. Nielsen holds a splendid position in the interior decorating department of the John B. Holtzclaw Galleries, a very exclusive decorating and home furnishing establishment. But he has never entirely deserted his first love – Fine Art – and always returns from his journeys with paintings to recall the beautiful scenes he has enjoyed.

A year ago last spring, Mr. and Mrs. Nielsen toured Denmark and the northern part of Germany. It was a glorious vacation. They visited innumerable scenes of their childhood, renewed friendships made in their youth, and all but forgotten, had happy reunions with many of their relatives and came to appreciate the lush beauty of the Danish country better than they ever had in their youth. Nielsen’s artistic nature could not resist the temptation to capture some of that beauty on canvas and bring it home with him. Some of these canvases of bits of Danish landscape are included in the pictures he is exhibiting at the Eagle Rock Art Exhibit. His work is excellent, his subjects cover a wide range, and a group of his works make an exceptionally interesting exhibit.” per Eagle Rock Sentinel, Nov. 6, 1931, p. 2-3 (ref. from “Art in Eagle Rock,” PSCA, Vol. 9, pp. 469+).

Source: Nancy Dustin Wall Moure, MORRO BAY (including LOS OSOS, BAYWOOD PARK and CAYUCOS) ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY BEFORE 1960 (Publications in [Southern] California Art, vol. 13, no. I), Los Angeles: Dustin Publications, 2016.

Painter, muralist. Born in Denmark on April 10, 1873. Nielsen came to the U.S. at age 14 and settled in Chicago. He studied briefly at the AIC, but was mostly a self-taught artist. In 1925 he moved to Los Angeles and became active in the local art scene. He remained in the area until his death in Santa Ana on Oct. 24, 1965. His works include landscapes and still lifes. Exh: AIC, 1920-25; Painters & Sculptors of LA, 1925-37; Calif. Art Club, 1926; Pasadena Art Inst., 1928; Eagle Rock Artists, 1931-32; Calif. State Fair, 1936; Academy of Western Painters, 1936-37; GGIE, 1939. In: Gardena (CA) High School; Oakland Museum; LACMA; Fiesta Room of the Biltmore Hotel, LA (mural done with Ejnar Hansen); Adamson House, Malibu (mural). Eagle Rock Sentinel, 11-6-1931; CA&A; DR.