FAQ's

Your Nadeau Easel is hand crafted in the USA, and built to last a lifetime…your Nadeau Easel should literally last for decades! The strength and quality of our materials, simple design, and attention to detail during construction make these easels nearly indestructible. Also, your Nadeau Easel comes with a LIFETIME GUARANTEE on all materials and workmanship.

The Finish on your Nadeau Easel, which gives your easel it's smooth feel and protects your Nadeau Easel from the elements, is SC Johnson Fine Paste Wood Wax. It is applied by hand with a fine-grade steel wool. To protect your Nadeau Easel's finish, you can apply a coat of SC Johnson Fine Paste Wood Wax (or other comparable product) once a year, or whenever you desire.

The Nadeau Easel wood is North American hard maple, sourced primarily from Vermont and upstate New York, and some from Canada. We currently have the Nadeau Easel wood milled locally in Vermont and Massachusetts.

The Nadeau Easel hooked rod dowels are birch, which is the most common wood used for doweling because of straightness.

The Nadeau Easel internal springs are rustproof case hardened stainless steel, and the knobs are solid brass.

All other Nadeau Easel parts have been transitioned to brass-plated steel for strength and beauty: nuts, bolts & pins, hinges, palette support bar brackets, and the hinge eye-bolt.

The Nadeau Easel weighs just 8 ½ lbs. Leaving your extender leg and hooked rod at home slims your Nadeau Easel down to just 7 ½ lbs.

With the Nadeau Easel fully opened, the leg span is 5'10" from left to right, and 5'6" from front to back.

With the Nadeau Easel fully opened and in a narrow stance, the leg span is 4' from left to right, and 4' from front to back.

When closed, the Nadeau Easel is 3'10" long.

The height of the Nadeau Easel palette support (where you set your oils, pastels, etc.) varies based on how you set up the Nadeau Easel. It can be as low as 6" off the ground to as high as 3' off the ground.

With the Nadeau Easel fully opened, the total height is 5'7".

With the Nadeau Easel fully opened and in a narrow stance, the total height is 6'1".

There are a few different boxes shown on the Nadeau Easels in the photos, most are of a box my mother (Rosalie) has had for years. Bob Rummel is a plein air artist who hand-makes a gorgeous box specifically designed as a companion to the Nadeau Easel: https://bobrummel.com/collections/87296

Any pochade box or palette that lays flat within the dimensions of the easel will work excellent.

The Nadeau Easel will support a canvas as tall as approximately 5 feet, and there is nothing that limits your horizontal size.

There is truly no limit to how small you can paint on your Nadeau Easel, depending on your set up. If you choose to use the hooked rod to secure the top of your artwork, the minimum height is about 4", and the minimum horizontal is about 6". You can paint even smaller on your Nadeau Easel by securing your small surface to a larger surface with tape, a clamp, etc., see the Nadeau Easel Main Gallery for an example of this.

Your canvas or panel sits on two Artwork Support Pegs (every Nadeau Easel comes with three Artwork Support Pegs, one is a spare), which are inserted into the holes on the front two legs of the Nadeau Easel

Your canvas or panel is pinned down at the top of your Nadeau Easel using either the hooked rod or bungee cord (see images).

This is an umbrella my mother, Rosalie, has had for years. Dick Blick and Judson's Plein Air Outfitters are great sources for easel umbrellas.

Its wide leg-span makes the Nadeau Easel one of the most stable plein air easels on the market

There are many places on the Nadeau Easel where you can hang your bags and supplies, which further stabilizes your Nadeau Easel while keeping your stuff out of the mud!

The Extender Leg holes at the bottom of each Nadeau Easel leg allow you to tie the Nadeau Easel down with weights or tent pegs if you're painting in a monsoon!

Yes you can use your Nadeau Easel indoors — it's actually an amazing studio easel, and allows you to transition seamlessly from indoor to outdoor and back, with simplicity and familiarity of setup!

At the bottom of each Nadeau Easel leg is a nail-head, which helps protect the Nadeau Easel's wooden legs on harsh terrain.

When painting indoors with your Nadeau Easel, simply protect delicate flooring with a piece of rubber, carpet, cardboard, etc.

Our Return Promise:We want you to feel confident in your investment.

If you are not completely satisfied with The Nadeau Easel, you can return it within 30 days of delivery for a full refund, according to our full Return Policy. We have always offered free returns for domestic orders.

Guaranteed for Life:We fully guarantee all materials and workmanship. Our commitment to quality is proven by our history: we've only had a couple of easels returned since we began building them almost 40 years ago. The Nadeau Easel is an heirloom, built to last a lifetime.

Domestic Orders: Shipping for all purchases and returns within the continental United States is always FREE. Your Nadeau Easel is carefully packaged and arrives fast (3-5 Days, US).

International Orders: Shipping costs and estimated delivery times are calculated in real-time at checkout based on your location. We subsidize a portion of the cost to offer you the best possible rate.

Note: All customs, duties, and import fees are the customer's responsibility.

This batch of Nadeau Easels was built in our Vermont workshop by my brother Tobin, where these easels have been handcrafted for over 20 years.

Each one still carries the original Take It Easel branding burned into the wood — a reflection of the family workshop where the design first took shape.

As we transition the brand to Nadeau Studios, this may be the final opportunity to own an easel from the Vermont workshop.