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Erskine Nicol (3 July 1825 – 1904) was a Scottish figure and genre painter.
Nicol taught in Dublin, Ireland, from 1845–50, at the height of the Irish famine, and identified with the oppression of the Irish people and much of his work portrays the injustices inflicted upon the Irish population during the 19th century. As well as everyday Irish life
In 1850, he moved back to Edinburgh. He lived at 1 Blenheim Place, a fine Georgian flat at the top of Leith Walk.
He was made an Associate of the
*Wayside Prayers (1852; Tate, London)
*Beggar My Neighbour (1855)
*Irish Merry-Making (1856)
*Donnybrook Fair (1856)
*The Perch Fishers (1857)
*The Approach of the Enemy (1859)
*Portrait of Sir
Erskine Nicol at Contemporary Irish Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicol, Erskine 1825 births 1904 deaths Artists from Edinburgh Scottish illustrators 19th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters 20th-century Scottish painters Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Associates of the Royal Academy 19th-century Scottish male artists 20th-century Scottish male artists
Life
He was born in Leith on 3 July 1825 the eldest son of James Main Nicol and his wife Margaret Alexander. His father rented a property on Lochend Road and worked in a wine merchant (Wauchope & Moodie) at 133Constitution Street
Constitution Street is a thoroughfare in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland. It runs north from the junction of Leith Walk, Great Junction Street and Duke Street to the Albert Dock in Leith Docks.
History
The street takes its name from Constitution ...
. The family moved to Fife Place on Leith Walk in the 1830s.
After initial apprenticeship as a decorator he turned to art. He was a student at the Trustees' Academy
Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...
on Picardy Place in Edinburgh, where he studied with Sir William Allan, and Thomas Duncan. On qualifying he initially taught as an Art Master at the old Leith High School.
Nicol taught in Dublin, Ireland, from 1845–50, at the height of the Irish famine, and identified with the oppression of the Irish people and much of his work portrays the injustices inflicted upon the Irish population during the 19th century. As well as everyday Irish life
In 1850, he moved back to Edinburgh. He lived at 1 Blenheim Place, a fine Georgian flat at the top of Leith Walk.
He was made an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy
The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country’s national academy of art. It promotes contemporary Scottish art.
The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy, it became the ...
in 1851 and an Academician in 1859.
Nicol exhibited at the Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
and was made an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1866.
He also exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy and the British Institution.
In 1862 he left Edinburgh and moved to St John's Wood in London, then in 1864 moved to 24 Dawson Place in west London. He also purchased a studio in Clonava in County Westmeath
"Noble above nobility"
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country
, subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Provinces o ...
in Ireland and enjoyed finishing canvases there until ill-health forced him to curtail his travelling. He thereafter used a disused church in Pitlochry to complete his works.
He died at The Dell, Feltham in Middlesex, on 8 March 1904. He is buried with his second wife in Rottingdean.
In 1905 the Royal Scottish Academy held a commemorative exhibition.
Selected works
*Wayside Prayers (1852; Tate, London)
*Beggar My Neighbour (1855)
*Irish Merry-Making (1856)
*Donnybrook Fair (1856)
*The Perch Fishers (1857)
*The Approach of the Enemy (1859)
*Portrait of Sir William Fettes Douglas
Sir William Fettes Douglas (1822–1891) was a Scottish painter and art connoisseur, rising to be President of the Royal Scottish Academy.
Life
He was born on 12 March 1822 at 26 Rankeillor Street in Edinburgh's South Side, the eldest son o ...
(1862) Royal Scottish Academy
The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country’s national academy of art. It promotes contemporary Scottish art.
The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy, it became the ...
*Renewal of the Lease Refused (1863)
*Irish Emigrants Waiting for the Train (1864)
*The Emigrants (1864; Tate, London)
*A Deputation (1865)
*Collecting His Thoughts (1865) Sheffield Museums
*Both Puzzled (1866)
*A Country Booking-Office (1867)
*Making Pills for the Saxons (1868)
*The Crossroads (1868)
*Steady, Johnnie, Steady (1870)
*Kept In (1871)
*The Missing Boat (1877)
Family
Nicol was twice married: first in 1851 to Janet Watson, who died in 1863, leaving two sons (including John Watson Nicol (1856–1926), who became a painter) and a daughter; second in 1865 to Margaret Mary Wood, who survived him, and by whom he had two sons (the elder, Erskine Edwin Nicol, also became a painter) and a daughter. Parish: Edinburgh South Leith; ED: 95; Page: 1; Line: 4; Roll: CSSCT1861_126Notes
References
* *External links
*Erskine Nicol at Contemporary Irish Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicol, Erskine 1825 births 1904 deaths Artists from Edinburgh Scottish illustrators 19th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters 20th-century Scottish painters Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Associates of the Royal Academy 19th-century Scottish male artists 20th-century Scottish male artists