Upon completion of the fellowship, Nicoll returned to Massachusetts to accept a post as Curator of Exhibits at the Old Sturbridge Village, a living museum.
[2] During her time there, she served as project director for the exhibitions “Meet Your Neighbors: New England Portraits, Painters and Society, 1790-1850” and “Changing Times, Changing Lives: Women in Rural New England in the early 19th century.”[2] In 1992, Nicoll was hired as Curator of American Art at the Portland Museum of Art.
[3] During her tenure, Nicoll curated numerous noteworthy exhibitions featuring folk art, fabric collages, contemporary abstract works, paintings, drawing, prints and photography.
[3] Nicoll also authored numerous exhibition catalogues and gallery guides, and published many scholarly articles on topics including the architecture of Federal-era mansions and Quaker quilts; American artists such as Will Barnet, Abraham Bogdanove, Charles Codman, Winslow Homer, William and Marguerite Zorach; the art collection of American philanthropist Elizabeth B. Noyce; and the artistic community formed by Robert Henri on Monhegan Island.
[3] In 2005, Nicoll returned to her alma mater where she succeeded Suzannah Fabing as Director and Chief Curator of the Smith College Museum of Art.