Erskine Nicol (1825-1904) made his name as a painter of anecdotal scenes, who in his early years often poked fun at the typical Irish Immigrant arriving to seeking his fortune in England. By the 1870’s, his viewpoint had become more serious and he responded to the plight of Irish emigrants as a matter of documentary importance  – in this case the situation of a respectable looking Irishman studying an advertisement for a clipper to America, having arrived at Liverpool docks which were the gateway to America. It has been argued that Erskine Nicol’s growing empathy for the displaced Irish was influenced by Thomas Faed’s Last of the Clan,  which he could have seen at the Royal Academy in 1865. Certainly he was an influence on his own son, John Watson Nicol, painter of Lochaber No More.

Erskine Nicol RSA ARA, 1825-1904

Nicol was born in Leith, and at the age of thirteen, while apprenticed to a house decorator in Edinburgh, enrolled at the city's Trustee's Academy under William Adam. In 1846, after a short spell as a drawing master at Leith high School, he became an art master in Dublin. A prolific artist, Nicol executed genre, often of an amusing nature, and figurative subjects in oil and watercolour. He was influenced by the early work of David WWilkie. It was while living in Dublin that Nicol developed the humorous aspect of his work, perceiving a comical side in almost any situation. He returned to Edinburgh around 1850 and moved to London in 1863.