In the late 1990s, internationally acclaimed artist Diana Nicosia of Gulf Stream was waiting at the Rome airport for a delayed flight when she struck up a conversation with a man in a black suit sitting next to her. He turned out to be Cardinal John Foley, a former Philadelphia priest who served for more than 20 years as the Vatican’s chief of communications.
Nicosia told the cardinal it was her lifelong dream to paint the private papal gardens at the Vatican. He said something like, “Let me see what I can do.” She was later granted her wish, causing tongues to wag in Rome.
“First of all, I’m not Catholic,” says Nicosia. “Secondly, I’m an American. Every artist in Italy is vying to paint the papal gardens, and the Vatican usually says no.”
Nicosia (pronounced “nic-OH-see-ah”) says it was one of the most moving experiences of her career. “I kept thinking about Michelangelo,” she says. He had painted the ceiling of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel nearly 500 years earlier.
The invitation was just one of many Nicosia has received since she began painting in her 20s. She was invited to paint at Claude Monet’s Giverny in France. The family of Sir Winston Churchill invited her to paint on the grounds of Chartwell, Churchill’s country estate. The Brazilian government invited her to photograph and paint the destruction and re-growth of the Amazon rainforest.
After Iraqi soldiers set fire to more than 600 oil wells as they retreated from Kuwait in 1991, Nicosia was invited by the Kuwaiti government to paint scenes from that environmental catastrophe. Her series, called “Tides of War: The Oil Fires of Kuwait,” went on exhibit in Kuwait City and Washington D.C. The paintings have been described as “beautiful in an eerie sort of way.”
Forty-five of Nicosia’s original oil paintings are on display through April 15 at the Cornell Museum of Art and American Culture at Old School Square in Delray Beach. The exhibit, called “The World of Color: Italy, Brazil, France and Kuwait,” features a few of those beautiful yet eerie burning-oil-field landscapes. On the evening of March 14, Nicosia will lecture at the museum, describing the summer she was allowed to paint the Vatican gardens.
When Nicosia isn’t traveling or working from her studio in Boston, she enjoys painting “the light on the ocean and the beach” from a fourth-floor portico at her Gulf Stream home and studio.
She is known for her unforgettable, powerful use of color.
Now in mid-career, Nicosia says for years, the biggest compliment other artists could give her was this: “You know, your works are really powerful. You can’t tell a woman did it.”
Today, this woman paints six days a week, morning and afternoon, with a break in between to refresh her mind and let the oil paint cure. She believes in discipline.
“That’s what art is all about. Flaubert had a saying I agree with: ‘Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.’ ”
— Paula Detwiller
10 Questions
Q. Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A. I grew up in New England, in a bedroom community near Boston, and summered in New Hampshire on the lakes. The first town we lived in (from 3 years of age to around 12) was New London, N.H., on Lake Sunapee. I was first influenced in New London by the beautiful and wonderful forests, and I loved looking through the pine groves to the lake. It was a very small town that still had real, vibrant farms.
I attended Massachusetts College of Art through a merit scholarship while in high school, graduated from Colby Sawyer College and Wheaton College. I attended an atelier founded by Ives Gammell for graduate studies.
Q. How and when did you become an artist?
A. At 13 years of age, I declared my intentions to become an artist. I actually realized this ambition in my late 20s.
Q. What other careers have you had; what were the highlights?
A. Most notably I was a property and casualty insurance broker. I was able to earn enough money to pursue painting full time. At one time, I juggled two distinct careers: I was fortunate to work in London (in insurance) and had my first major gallery launch in Mayfair. I did not sleep very much in those days!
Q. What advice do you have for a young person pursuing a career in the arts today?
A. Get proper fine arts training and get business/marketing training. Have sufficient savings so you can pursue your own painting style and have time to prepare a body of work for a show.
Q. Tell us about your art.
A. I paint in oils, mostly realistic to atmospheric landscapes. I am passionate about landscapes and love to paint them. I am inspired by the play of light on water and also light and shade in fields, gardens. I lived for about 20 years in the southernmost part of Tuscany, the land of the Etruscans. I had Etruscan ruins on my property; the land was on a slope to the sea. Caravaggio died on the beach beside my house. Puccini composed his music in the nearby town. The backcountry was the home of bandits; the coastline was filled with Spanish pirates. It was a spiritual place with a nearby bird and wildlife preserve.
I paint in a series format, immerse myself in the culture, read lots about the history of the people, and paint. My retrospective 1985–2011 exhibit at the Cornell Museum in Delray reflects my interest in trying to portray the beauty of the land. It’s been my lifelong quest.
Q. How did you choose to have a home/studio in Gulf Stream?
A. I wintered in Delray Beach for about 10 years when I was a child. My parents rented on Gleason Street. Later in life I find myself living less than a mile away in Gulf Stream with my husband. We chose to live on the beach in Gulf Stream as our next adventure!
Q. What is your favorite part about living in Gulf Stream?
A. The graciousness of the people, the beauty of the land and ocean. The light on the ocean at all times of day and night. It’s still a small-town atmosphere.
Q. Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A. Yes, many — and I was fortunate to have them. To name two: Charlotte Curtis, first woman op-ed editor of The New York Times, and Tex McCrary, a great Texan and newsman with CBS, among other accomplishments.
Q. Who or what makes you laugh?
A. My husband, Arthur, also known as Arturo, and my Persian cat, Percy.
Q. If your life story were made into a movie, who would you want to play you?
A. Diane Lane — after all, I lived in Tuscany!
If You Go
Diana Nicosia, “The World of Color: Italy, Brazil, France and Kuwait” will be on exhibit through April 15 at the Cornell Museum of Art and American Culture at Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach.
Hours: 10:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-4:30 pm. Sunday.
Admission: $10 general, $6 seniors (65+), $4 students (13-21), $2 ages 4-12, free for ages 3 and younger.
Box office: 243- 7922, Ext. 1
In addition, Nicosia will speak on “An American Painter in Vatican City” at 6 p.m. March 14 at the Cornell Museum Angelique Tea Room. Cost is $10 and includes an after-lecture reception.
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