Nicole Jeffords grew up in New York City, daughter of Franyo and Gustave Schindler, well known collectors of African and Oceanic art. Her mother, a portrait painter who had studied in Berlin before fleeing Hitler Germany in 1938, was Nicole’s first teacher and a tremendous influence.

Nicole received an MFA from Boston University in 1978. She studied at Sir John Cass School of Art in London, as well as at the School of Visual Arts and the Art Student’s League in New York. She has also studied with painter Noel Robbins in Austin, Texas, where she has her studio.