Andrew Nicholl RHA (4 April 1804 – 16 April 1886) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

painter. He was a founding member of the Belfast Association of Artists and in 1847 was elected as an associate member to the

Royal Hibernian Academy The Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823. Like many other Irish institutions, such as the RIA, the academy retained the word "Royal" after most of Ireland became in ...

, becoming a full member in 1860.

Early life

Nicholl was born in Belfast on 4 April 1804, the second son of Henry Nicholl, a bootmaker. In 1822, at the age of 18, he was apprenticed to printer

Francis Dalzell Finlay Francis Dalzell Finlay (1793–1857), was an Irish journalist. Finlay was the son of John Finlay, tenant farmer, of Newtownards, County Down, by his wife, Jane Dalzell, was born 12 July 1793 at Newtownards, and began life as a printer's appren ...

for seven years. He worked as a compositor on ''

The Northern Whig The Northern Whig is a bar housed in a historical building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is in the Cathedral Quarter, just to the north of the Belfast City Centre. At various times during its history it has been a gentleman's club and a new ...

'' which was founded in 1824. Though he worked in the letterpress department, drawing and painting was an interest from childhood. He received encouragement from his older brother, painter William Nicholl (1794-1840), and possibly some instruction.

Career

He found patronage under Sir

James Emerson Tennent Sir James Emerson Tennent, 1st Baronet, FRS (born James Emerson; 7 April 1804 – 6 March 1869) was a British politician and traveller born in Ireland. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 5 June 1862. Life The third son of William ...

, who funded a trip to London in 1830-1832. He exhibited his work at the RHA in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

and at the Royal Academy, London. Tennent's patronage also secured for him an appointment as teacher of landscape drawing, painting and design at the Colombo Academy (later Royal College, Colombo) in Sri Lanka. He rewarded his patron (by then Colonial Secretary) by illustrating parts of the latter's descriptive book about the island, ''

Ceylon, Physical, Historical and Topographical {{italic title ''Ceylon. An Account of the Island, Physical, Historical, and Topographical with Notices of its Natural History, Antiquities and Productions'' is a two-volume book from 1859 by James Emerson Tennent. "There is no island in the worl ...

''. A watercolour entitled The

Great Sphinx The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human, and the body of a lion. Facing directly from west to east, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, E ...

with a pyramid of Khufu and another boat of Aden indicate other travel. He died at Camberwell on 16 April 1886 and was buried at

West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of ...

. The

Ulster History Circle The Ulster History Circle is a heritage organisation that administers Blue Plaques for the area that encompasses the province of Ulster on the island of Ireland. It is a voluntary, not-for-profit organisation, placing commemorative plaques in pub ...

has a blue plaque to him at his birth house at 10 Church Lane,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

Legacy

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

purchased several of his drawings in 1858 and 1870. The Ulster Museum has a collection of about 380 of his watercolours and drawings. A book containing brief biographical details and reproductions of Nicholl's 1828 paintings of the Antrim coast was privately published by the Glens of Antrim Historical Society in about 1983.

References

External links

*
NICHOLL, ANDREW, R.H.A.

National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ga, Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the Republic of Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland i ...

online text from by Walter G. Strickland ''A dictionary of Irish artists, one hundred and fifty portraits'' Dublin, London, Maunsel & company, limited, 1913
Nicholl at Vauxhall SocietyBBC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholl, Andrew 1804 births 1886 deaths 19th-century Irish painters Irish male painters Artists from Belfast Burials at West Norwood Cemetery Faculty of Royal College, Colombo Sri Lankan educators 19th-century Irish male artists

Early life

Career

Legacy

See also

References

External links