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Arundel Holmes Nicholls was an exceptional photographer of the 1910s and
1920s who photographed nudes almost exclusively outdoors both male and
female. The photographs often exhibited a posterized or iridescent look
about them. This may have been done intentionally or the result of
degradation to the emulsion over time due to a specialized process. Some of
Arundel Holmes Nicholls photographs are in the archives of the Kinsey
Institute. Arundel Holmes Nicholls published a catalog in 1923 entitled
"Woodland Romance" and used what he called the Guttman Process to make the
plates. Arundel worked out of a studio in New York City and archives of
his work can still be found there. Arundel Holmes Nicholls attended the
Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ in 1911. The Stevens Institute
of Technology was founded in 1870 and remains active today.
I was contacted by a relative of one of Arundel Holmes Nicholls models on
04/02/2007 (see below) which helped quite a bit to build on the Arundel
Holmes Nicholls knowledge base.
My family has a connection to the photographer Arundel Holmes Nicholls.
Not a blood relationship, but a close friendship from the 1930s. Three
of my aunts were woodland subjects of "Nick" and I think my mother and
father were too. I have a dozen or so of his original prints.
Nick's mother was the artist Rhoda Holmes Nicholls, and his father the
artist Burr Nicholls. Both were highly regarded at the beginning of the
last century. Nick never married, and when he died about 1932 all of his
possessions went to my aunt.
'Nick' is the name by which A. H. Nicholls was known. He operated from
217 East 22 Street, then 435 W. 43 St. in New York. He was descended
from British nobility (there is a castle and town of Arundel about 55
miles from London).
In addition to the photo collection, I have his notebook from a court case in
which he was sued for mailing pictures of nudes in the US mail. His defense
was based upon showing that the nude form has been basic to art since
antiquity (and he had an extensive collection of postcards from museums around
the world showing reproductions of such classics that had passed through the
mails without concealment). I can't tell you much about the court case either.
I assume it was Federal and tried in the district court for New York. I don't
know the outcome.
He had interests in art, photography, erotic literature, and fly fishing. At
one point in his life he had taken photos in Africa, documenting the mound
building termites. (I've always wanted to research whether or not he was
connected with National Geographic.) His best friend, named Hopper, was the
first husband of my late aunt. His woodland photographs were taken within a
few miles of New York City.
My aunts and parents are all deceased. They had posed probably prior to 1933,
and probably on Long Island or Rockland County.
-Don (slightly edited)
Don went on to identify the model from images 000-019 as Verna Hopper (1905-1999).
She was a long time model for Arundel as is evidenced by the changing hairstyles
on her head and pubic area. 020-022 are possibly Verna's younger sister Grace
(1908-1973).
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