Francis Nicholson (14 November 1753 – 6 March 1844) was a British artist. He worked in watercolour and oil, and is mainly known as a landscape artist.

Early life

Nicholson was born in Pickering,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

Career

Nicholson studied with a local artist in Scarborough, before beginning his career in his native Pickering, producing sporting pictures and portraits for a variety of Yorkshire patrons. By the mid-1780s he was also making paintings of country houses, leading him to concentrate on landscapes in watercolour. From 1789, he contributed views of both Yorkshire and Scotland to exhibitions 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 ...

. He also supplied topographical views for the Copper Plate Magazine. He contributed "Views of England", in collaboration with the engraver Francis Jukes to "The Beauties of England and Wales", Author: Britton, John & Edward Wedlake Brayley - A book published in 18 volumes from 1801 to 1815. Although his market increasingly became London-based, Nicholson continued to live in Yorkshire - at

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Cl ...

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenar ...

and

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

. He did not move to London until about 1803. In 1804, he became a founder-member of the

Society of Painters in Watercolours The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wat ...

, and was a regular and prolific contributor to its exhibitions.

Later life

He wrote a handbook, ''The practice of drawing and painting landscape from nature, in water colours'', which was published in 1820. It sold out and a second edition followed in 1823.Francis Nicholson. ''The practice of drawing and painting landscape from nature, in water colours: exemplified in a series of instructions, with observations on the study of nature, and various other matters relative to the arts.'' J. Murray. London, 1823. Nicholson died in London and is buried there in

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Establ ...

Legacy

His c. 1837 self-portrait is in the National Portrait Gallery. He is known as the Father of water colour painting and also as an early pioneer of lithography, and was much admired by Turner. In October 2012 Pickering and district Civic Society erected a Blue Plaque in his memory on 3 Hungate Pickering. His daughter Marianne Croker was an artist, poet and author, and married

Thomas Crofton Croker Thomas Crofton Croker (15 January 1798 – 8 August 1854) was an Irish antiquary, best known for his ''Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland'' (1825–1828), and who also showed considerable interest in Irish song and music. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Francis 1753 births 1844 deaths Burials at Brompton Cemetery 18th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English painters Knights Bachelor English landscape painters People from Pickering, North Yorkshire English watercolourists 19th-century English male artists 18th-century English male artists