Douglas Nason

Doug Allan Nason was born in Los Angeles to Shirley Mitchell Nason and Malcolm Craig Nason III. By his own account, he had an idyllic childhood growing up in the shadow of 20th Century Fox Studios, literally riding his prized Schwinn bike on the street where The Wonder Years was filmed. He lived his life with youthful exuberance, precision, kindness, authenticity and integrity.

He and his sister Diane, attended Paul Revere Junior High School and Palisades High School. Doug graduated from Humboldt State University at the gateway to his beloved Pacific Northwest. It was there that he spread his wings and began playing percussion with Espree, the first of many bands.

His lifelong passion for exploration and anthropology took him to one hundred countries, all seven continents and many lands unknown. However; it was his insatiable curiosity that drove him to live in many worlds, including commercial real estate, all things mid-century, Low Brow Art, tribal peoples, jazz, ethnomusicology, tiki culture, exotic plants, reptiles & tropical fish. He was a hi fidelity audiophile, photographer, author and so much more.

Doug was a respected Real Estate Appraiser and led a valuation team as Senior Vice President at Wells Fargo Bank for over 30 years. His grandfather and father, Malcolm Craig Nason II and III were also reknowned real estate appraisers. He had many mentors and mentees across the industry with whom he took great joy in debating valuation and going concerns. Doug served several terms as President and Vice-President of the American Society of Appraisers and was passionate about both real property and personal property appraisal.

In 1992, he and Greg Escalante founded the Copro Nason Gallery in Culver City, California (now Copro Gallery at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica) that played a seminal role in the Low Brow Movement that democratized and blurred the lines between subculture and fine art. Doug was the author/co-author of six books, including Rat Fink: The Art of Ed ‘Big Daddy ’Roth, Shag LTD, Fine Art Limited Editions, Night of the Tiki, The Art of Von Dutch, Copro Nason Fine Art: Catalogue Raissonne, and King of Kustomizers: The Art of George Barris and was working on a seventh documenting his exploration of oceanic cultures.

Doug was an avid collector of oceanic arts and a longtime member of the Ethnic Arts Council of Los Angeles. In 2009; he together with Jeff Fox, curated the In Search of Tiki exhibition at the Forest Lawn Glendale Museum featuring traditional oceanic art juxtaposed against Polynesian pop and a modern group art exhibition including artist Josh Agle (SHAG).

A confirmed bachelor, Doug met the love of his life at age 51, but only with the firm and loving insistence of his dear friend Jolene Myers. And as only he would have imagined; Doug kneeled down to propose marriage to Christine, during the Ethiopian celebration of Timkat in the shadow of the medieval stone temples of Lalibela. Together they traversed the globe and enjoyed quieter pursuits like the restoration of their 1958 built home, gardening, mixology and entertaining friends and family.

Doug was 66 years old and passed away peacefully at home in Pasadena, after a valiant 3 year battle with stage 4 cholangiocarcinoma. He is survived by his wife, Christine Cadena, hypoallergenic cat, Natasha, step children Megan Cadena (Marlon Cervantes), Matthew Cadena, Max (Natalie) Cadena, beloved mother Shirley Mitchell Nason, sister Diane (Brian) Weissberg, nephew Jon (Bradley) Weissberg, niece Allyson (Jason) Heim, beloved Uncle Jim & Aunt Tina Mitchell, cousins, great nieces, nephews and many dear lifelong friends.

In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting the work of one of Doug’s lifelong personal causes:

Union Rescue Mission https://www.urm.org

World Wildlife Fund https://protect.worldwildlife.org

Ethnic Arts Council, Los Angeles https://ethnnicartscouncil.org

KJAZZ https://www.kkjz.org

The Archeological Conservancy https://www.thearchcons.org

Los Angeles Conservancy https://www.laconservancy.org