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Graham Nickson and Ruth Miller. Courtesy Ruth Miller.
Within hours after Graham’s death, tributes began pouring in over social media. There were expressions like “a brilliant teacher,” “a force,” and “Graham taught me to see.” Along with these messages of admiration and gratitude were deeply felt expressions of connection and love—for a mentor, a teacher, a friend.
Graham was my cherished friend for over forty years. I first met a young Graham when Andrew [Forge] invited him to Yale to visit his students, and it was shortly after that visit that Andrew and I introduced him to the Studio School. Of course, we had to get him past Mercedes [Matter], and after some minor glitches, he passed with flying colors—thus began a long, enduring relationship with the school. I was teaching there with Graham and Mercedes when they worked together—her vision challenging his vision, though Graham was officially the Dean by then. At times it seemed like a battle between two strong-willed Titians! However, their mutual admiration and respect for one another carried them through passionate disagreements and school crises, which Graham navigated with patience and wisdom.
It was an exciting and fruitful time for students and faculty alike. His reputation as a teacher was incomparable. His knowledge of art was encyclopedic. He was the kind of artist-teacher who believed art was not cut off from life, but was a humanistic endeavor demanding the involvement of the whole self.
I feel that Graham is still with us through his heroic work, which stands beyond time, and is a testimony to his devotion and his vast ambition.
Ruth Miller is a painter who has taught at the New York Studio School and elsewhere. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States and can be found in collections at the Delaware Art Museum, Corcoran Gallery, National Academy of Design, The Hood Museum at Dartmouth College, the Fairfield University Art Museum., and Bryn Mawr College, as well as in private collections throughout the United States and Europe.