The Nicholson Art League was founded in 1906 as a successor to the Knoxville Art Club. Comprised of artists, painters, architects, and photographers as well as art enthusiasts, the organization held programs, shows, and lectures devoted to the study of art, both historical and contemporary. Members also helped organize art displays and exhibitions in the region. While the city had been home to literary societies during the 1800s, The Nicholson Art League was Knoxville's first visual arts organization. It was very influential on the art community of Knoxville as well as East Tennessee, helping to develop a greater appreciation for art and culture. Some of its notable members include Catherine Wiley (1879-1958), Lloyd Branson (1853-1925), and Charles Krutch (1849-1934). After many of its members passed away or moved, the Nicholson Art League ceased around 1930.

Evelyn Louise Van Gilder Creekmore was born in 1905 to Ellen Bolli (1880-1958) and Walter Van Gilder (1870-1943), the owner of a glass company in Knoxville. A homemaker and poet, she married Robert Elmond Creekmore (1892-1976), who practiced law in Knoxville, and together they had four children. She died in 1990 and is buried in Knox County.

Eleanor Creekmore Dickinson was born on February 7, 1931 in Knoxville to Evelyn Van Gilder (1905-1990) and Robert Elmond Creekmore (1892-1976). She earned her BA from the University of Tennessee in 1952, an MFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1982, and an MFA from Golden Gate University in 1984. She also completed postgraduate work at the San Francisco Art Institute (1960-1963) and the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere (1971). Eleanor spent most of her career at the California College of the Arts in Oakland, where she has worked as an art professor. She has also served as the artist-in-residence at the University of Tennessee (1969), Arkansas State University (1993), the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco (2000), and the University of Alaska (1991). Eleanor married Ben Wade Oakes Dickinson on June 12, 1952, and the couple had three children: Mark Wade, Katherine Van Gilder, and Peter Somers. Eleanor died February 25, 2017, and is buried in Knox County.