Remembering Nall: A Visionary Artist Passes Away

Fred Nall Hollis, a celebrated visual artist from Alabama known for his genre-bending mediums and international acclaim, passed away at 76. He was inducted into the Alabama Center for the Arts Hall of Fame and received numerous accolades. Hollis founded the Nature Art and Life League Art Association and operated the Nall Studio Museum in Fairhope.

Fred Nall Hollis, an award-winning, world-renowned Alabama visual artist, died on Saturday at the age of 76, according to a local arts center.

Born in Troy, Alabama, Hollis, also known professionally as 'Nall,' was a prolific artist who excelled in various mediums, including porcelain, carpet, mosaics, sculpture, and etchings. His work was showcased in over 300 solo exhibitions worldwide, including the United States, France, and Italy. Nall studied under Salvador Dalí in the early 1970s and later founded the Nature Art and Life League Art Association.

The artist's death was confirmed by Pelham Pearce, executive director of the Eastern Shore Art Center in Fairhope, Alabama, where Hollis lived. The center commemorated him on Instagram, saying, 'The artist Nall once said that as his memories began to fade, his work brought him back to the eras and locations of his past. Today, the Eastern Shore, the state of Alabama, and all the locations of his past say goodbye to a visionary.'

Throughout his career, Hollis exhibited his work in prestigious venues such as the Menton Museum of Art in France and the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy. His contributions to the arts earned him Alabama's highest humanities honor in 2018, and he was inducted into the Alabama Center for the Arts Hall of Fame in 2016. Two of Hollis' works are permanently displayed at the NALL Museum in the International Arts Center at Troy University, which awarded him an honorary doctoral degree in 2001.

(With inputs from agencies.)