Item #1760 IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s
IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s
IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s
IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s
IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s
IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s
IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s
IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s
IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s
IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s
IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s
IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s
IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s
IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s
IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s
IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s
IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s

IPHIGINIA “EFFIE” NICAS — ARCHIVE OF AN AMERICAN WOMAN ARTIST AND SCIENTIST, CIRCA 1960s–1980s

Item #1760

An extensive personal and artistic archive documenting the life, education, scientific achievements, exhibitions, and creative pursuits of Iphiginia S. “Effie” Nicas (1952–2026), a New Jersey artist and scientist whose work bridged the disciplines of chemistry and fine arts.

The collection comprises four photograph albums and approximately 75 loose photographs, with approximately 95 photographs in total, including color and black-and-white images of various sizes. Three of the albums measure 10 × 11.5 inches. Accompanying materials include exhibition catalogs, newspaper clippings, invitations, correspondence, artwork reproductions, and assorted ephemera.

Particularly significant are photographs documenting Nicas's paintings and exhibitions during the 1970s. Images show her posing alongside large abstract geometric compositions, while other photographs record individual paintings, graphic works, and experimental imagery. Two albums contain handwritten indexes identifying specific artworks, dates, exhibitions, and sales, providing valuable contemporary documentation of her artistic development.

The indexes identify numerous works created during her studies at Beaver College in Glenside, Pennsylvania, including Tic-Tac-Toe, The Heart, A City, Crowded City, Destruction, The Gray Leaf, Happiness, and Rain. Several entries identify the works as oil or acrylic paintings completed in 1974. The records also document works sold for $150 each, including a painting titled The 100 Teeth, reportedly purchased by Jean Gomez-Lawyer, and another titled Two Trees, associated with an Art Alliance exhibition in May 1974.

Additional entries reference exhibitions at the Philadelphia Art Alliance and a 1974 exhibition titled Women in Focus, suggesting Nicas's participation in the Philadelphia-area art community during her college years. Accompanying printed material includes a catalog for Regional Oil and Acrylic, a juried exhibition held at the Philadelphia Art Alliance from January 10 through February 9, 1975, and an April 1976 issue of The Catalyst.

A contemporary newspaper photograph identifies Nicas as chairman of an employee art exhibition at a hospital, showing her discussing the upcoming event with fellow employees. Together with photographs of her paintings displayed in exhibition settings, these materials document both her creative production and her involvement in organizing and promoting the work of other artists.

The archive also records Nicas's remarkable early achievements in science. Photographs depict science fair exhibitions, research displays, scientific presentations, and laboratory-related activities, while a contemporary newspaper clipping identifies her as a science award winner.

Born in Long Branch, New Jersey, Nicas demonstrated exceptional academic and artistic abilities from an early age. She received first place in the Rutgers Science Fair for research on chromatic pigment patterns in maple leaves and was selected to represent the Girl Scouts at the Apollo 12 space launch in November 1969. She graduated from Long Branch High School in 1970 and earned a double major in Chemistry and Fine Arts from Beaver College (now Arcadia University) in 1975. She subsequently attended graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Her professional career included positions at the Wistar Institute for Biological Research, the University of Pennsylvania, the Veterans Hospital in Philadelphia, and Long Branch Public Schools. Her artistic activities extended beyond painting to include illustrating a Greek cookbook, participating in local exhibitions, and playing flute in the Doctor's Symphony in Philadelphia.

Nicas was also active in civic and cultural organizations, serving for seventeen years as vice president of the Long Branch Public Library and participating in the Long Branch Historical Association.

An unusually well-documented personal archive illustrating the intersection of art and science in the life of an accomplished American woman during the latter twentieth century. The handwritten artwork indexes, identified paintings, recorded sales, exhibition materials, and contemporary photographs provide a particularly valuable record of a woman artist's creative development and professional activities during the 1970s. Combined with documentation of her scientific achievements, the collection offers insight into women's expanding participation in scientific, artistic, and educational institutions.

Of particular interest to institutions and collectors focusing on women's history, women in science, American art, art education, and twentieth-century cultural history.

Four photograph albums, approximately 95 photographs in total, including approximately 75 loose photographs, together with exhibition catalogs, newspaper clippings, invitations, and assorted ephemera. Three albums measure 10 × 11.5 inches. The materials exhibit varying degrees of age-related wear, including toning to some album pages. Offered as a single archive.

Price: $800.00

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