Nicol, Erskine, 1825-1904

Epithet: ARA

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000216.0x000299

The oil and watercolour painter Erskine Nicol was born in the Lochend area of Edinburgh on 3 July 1825. He was an apprentice to a house painter before entering Trustees Academy at the Royal Scottish Academy, Mound, Edinburgh, in 1838. He was then a drawing master at Leith High School, and in 1846 he went to Ireland where he became an art master. Nicol painted Irish life and character, often humourously. He returned to Edinburgh in 1849. He was a constant exhibitor at the Royal Scottish Academy. In 1862 he exhibited at the Royal Academy and settled in London but made annual visits to Ireland studying his subjects. Latterly too he turned to Scottish subjects and worked in Pitlochry for a while. In 1885 he retired to Middlesex. Erskine Nicol died in Feltham, Middlesex on 8 March 1904.

From the guide to the Letters of Erskine Nicol (1825-1904), 1868-1899, (Edinburgh University Library)