Biography Pauline Wright Nichols (1889-1983), born in Oxford, Mississippi, studied mathematics at the University of Mississippi, earning her degree in 1909, and taught at Oxford High School for one year. She then moved to New Orleans in 1911 to attend Sophie Newcomb College, where she received her bachelor's degree in design. She continued her art studies at Newcomb, under the tutelage of Ellsworth Woodward, and later at the Chicago Art Institute. The Art Association of New Orleans exhibited her work in 1913, 1915 and 1916. She taught art at Belhaven College and at Newcomb College until 1918, when she married Irby C. Nichols and moved to Baton Rouge. She continued her design and art work, creating personalized bookplates, painting, and designing stage sets