Charles Nivens Est. CharlesNivensArt.com · kept by his family
Yellow, white and green houses sit under trees with orange and red foliage, with two figures beside a blue car and a red car parked at right. A man in a red jacket plays a blue saxophone on a city street, with tall grey buildings and a green car behind. A red and orange school bus is parked in a yellow-green field in front of pink and yellow houses, under a bright blue sky with purple trees. A white van is parked before a green house with a red roofline, framed by orange and yellow autumn trees under a blue and lilac sky. A man in blue plays a gold trumpet beside a woman with curly yellow hair in a red top, against a deep blue and green background. A man in a blue shirt fills the right foreground. People gather at a food cart under a red-and-orange striped awning on a city street. A man in red sings with his head tilted back while playing an upright piano, against an orange and yellow background. Two women stand close together, one with red hair in blue and one with dark curly hair in a white dress with red polka dots, on a lavender ground. A man in a red cap and dark shirt puts his arm around a woman in a teal top with her hand on her hip, with a blue car and houses behind them. A white house with a green roof stands among trees, with an old blue car, a small red car and a bicycle in the yard under a grey-green sky. Small boats and a dark tugboat float in a pale green harbour, with old cars on the waterfront and blue, brown and grey skyscrapers rising behind.
Charles Nivens, in a dark jacket over a black shirt and an open lavender collar
Charlie · photo from the family archive

American Painter & Sculptor · 1943 – 2021

The kid who painted on cereal boxes never stopped painting.

From Salem, Missouri to the galleries of Chicago, London and Germany — and home again to the American South — Charlie Nivens spent a lifetime turning ordinary days into color.

“I don't believe that I am just a painter. I'm a creator and an interpreter of light, form, movement and lots of color.”

See the gallery Read his story

Coming up

Upcoming Events

Drawing November 16, 2026 · Circles of West Georgia

Two works of art. Two chances to win.

An original painting by Charles Nivens is one of two prizes in a raffle supporting Circles of West Georgia. The other is a handcrafted reclaimed-wood sideboard by Johnny Jackson.

Tickets $25 each, or 5 for $100 · Two separate prize drawings

This month

From the Journal

Estate Catalog Essays

The knife does the drawing

Why a Nivens picture has almost no line in it, read in four Southern Scenes whose close-ups show what the palette knife does instead.

Read it · the whole journal

A man in a blue shirt fills the right foreground.
Featured work

Got to Go

A man in a blue shirt fills the right foreground. Behind him, a nude woman stands beside a yellow camper trailer and a red car, under pale green trees.

Original works from the family collection are offered here, each photographed, documented, and shipped with a certificate from the estate.

See this work

Paintings, sculptures and prints

The Catalog

339 works catalogued so far. Nothing is ever removed from the catalog.

Not for sale Yellow, white and green houses sit under trees with orange and red foliage, with two figures beside a blue car and a red car parked at right. Going Out Southern Scenes · 2018 Not for sale A man in a red jacket plays a blue saxophone on a city street, with tall grey buildings and a green car behind. Traffic Jam Music & Jazz · 2009 Not for sale A red and orange school bus is parked in a yellow-green field in front of pink and yellow houses, under a bright blue sky with purple trees. School Bus Southern Scenes · 2010 Not for sale A white van is parked before a green house with a red roofline, framed by orange and yellow autumn trees under a blue and lilac sky. Be Bold Southern Scenes · 2015 Not for sale A man in blue plays a gold trumpet beside a woman with curly yellow hair in a red top, against a deep blue and green background. The Golden Horn Music & Jazz · 1999 Not for sale A man in a blue shirt fills the right foreground. Got to Go Figures · 2009 Not for sale People gather at a food cart under a red-and-orange striped awning on a city street. My Favorite Corner Cityscapes · 2008 Not for sale A man in red sings with his head tilted back while playing an upright piano, against an orange and yellow background. Barkin' at the Moon Music & Jazz · 2006 Not for sale Two women stand close together, one with red hair in blue and one with dark curly hair in a white dress with red polka dots, on a lavender ground. Untitled (Two Women) Figures · 2013 Not for sale A man in a red cap and dark shirt puts his arm around a woman in a teal top with her hand on her hip, with a blue car and houses behind them. He's Taken Figures · 2009

✎ Preliminary catalog: 339 works, entered with a short description. Medium and size will follow as each work is catalogued in full.

Where to start

By Series

Music & Jazz Horns, guitars and duets - the series that carried his work into Chicago's clubs and galleries. Southern Scenes Barns, churches, trucks and back roads: the rural South seen the way Charlie saw everything. Cityscapes The hustle and bustle of city life, built in palette-knife slabs of paint. Lakescapes Water, weather and light - the calm end of his range. Figures People, alone and in pairs, painted with the same knife-work as the landscapes. Still Lifes Objects arranged for color first. Americana Flags, storefronts and small-town emblems. Assemblage Painted wood and found objects - the three-dimensional half of his work, shown in 1996 as "Assembled".
Contact the estate

Own a Piece of Charlie's World

Original paintings, sculptures, and — coming soon — prints from his lithograph series. Every inquiry is answered by the family.

Inquire about a work Share a memory of Charlie