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Nichols' father, Hobart Nichols Sr., was a noted wood engraver who engraved the sketches in The History of North American Birds by Baird, Brewer and Ridgeway. His mother, Indiana Jay Nichols was skilled at drawing and "interested in all things related to the arts."Hobart’s brother, Spencer Baird Nichols, was a portrait painter and illustrator.
Nichols married painter Wilhelmina von Stoschm also of Washington, DC, in 1895.
Nichols' began his career as an illustrator for the US Geological Survey where he remained for 15 years building his fine art career in his spare time. Ultimately he became known for his landscapes rendered in oil or watercolor. His grandniece, Barbara Sussman’s description of her great uncle's work repeats the themes of so many of his viewers through his long career “Hobart’s paintings are solid and well executed, and he seldom strayed from the winter landscapes in which he found so much interest in exploring the nuances of light on snow.”
Hobart Nichols was known as much for his leadership in the art community as he was for his painting. He was president of the National Academy of Art for ten years and exhibited there, the Salmagundi Club and Grand Central Galleries many times. Today, Nichols’ work is among the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution the National Gallery of Art and the Phillips Collection.
Nearly blind, Nichols died in Bronxville on August 13, 1962