Vincent Nesbert

1898 - 1976

BiographyVincent Nesbert, a prominent Pittsburgh artist, was born in Telechany, Poland in 1898 and immigrated to Pittsburgh around 1914. Upon his arrival in Pittsburgh, Nesbert found work shoveling sand at Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation and attended night school in the South Side. First hired as an assistant to the sign painters at the G. G. O'Brien Company, he was soon promoted to designer, a position he held for four years. While employed at O'Brien, he attended evening art classes at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh.

In September 1918, Nesbert volunteered for the United States Army, serving with the 125th Engineers at Camp Forest, Georgia. As part of his mustering out in December 1918, Nesbert was naturalized. Nesbert returned to Pittsburgh and resumed his position with G. G. O'Brien until 1920, when he went to New York City to study at Columbia University's National Academy of Design. In 1921, he was awarded the Joseph Pulitzer Traveling Scholarship, which enabled him to tour Europe and visit the prominent art museums. By 1922, Nesbert had returned to Pittsburgh and in 1924, was hired by Kaufmann's Department Store as a display artist. Despite being hired to work in the stores, Nesbert spent most of his time painting portraits of the Kaufmann family.

Nesbert joined the faculty of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in August 1928, and later served as dean for many years. In 1963, he was promoted to assistant director. After retiring from the Art Institute, Nesbert continued teaching evening art classes at the Carnegie Institute. Nesbert's art was traditional in style and ranged from miniatures to still lifes. Frequently commissioned to produce portraits of prominent individuals, Nesbert is perhaps best known for the series of large murals that he executed in the Allegheny County Courthouse for the Works Project Administration during the New Deal. He began the three murals, entitled "Justice," "Peace," and "Industry," in 1933 and completed them several years later. Nesbert attained notoriety in 1961 when the Gaslight Club, located in the Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood, was shut down by Public Safety Director Louis Rosenberg. The Club's artwork featured several of Nesbert's nudes as an integral part of the decorating scheme.

Vincent Nesbert married Sophia Spochacz on February 6, 1929 and their only child, Dolores Mary Nesbert, was born on December 17, 1929. The couple's 1938 divorce was well-publicized, as was the ensuing custody case. Vincent Nesbert died in his home in Shadyside on February 13, 1976.