ERSKINE NICOL R.S.A., A.R.A. (SCOTTISH 1825-1904)
THE PEDAGOGUE
Estimate: £1,500 - £2,500
Scottish Paintings & Sculpture
Auction: Evening Sale | Lots 112- 206 | Thursday 05 June from 6pm
Description
Signed, signed, inscribed and dated 1855 to contemporary label verso, oil on panel
Dimensions
30.5cm x 25.5cm (12in x 10in)
Footnote
Erskine Nicol’s paintings typify the genre-style character studies that were in high demand during the Victorian period. Nicol was born in Leith, but from an early age he fell in love with Ireland, and accordingly his pictures often depict Scottish and Irish life through the lens of nineteenth-century social issues. His work is distinguished from that of his contemporaries by its mischievous wit, inviting us to delight in character archetypes that will be familiar to most viewers.
The Pedagogue was executed early in Nicol’s career, and may constitute a tongue-in-cheek allusion to Nicol’s own experience of working as a teacher at Leith High School and, later, in Dublin. A ruddy-cheeked youth scratches his head perplexedly, while an older man points an authoritative finger, a grimace on his face. This work was painted in the same year that Nicol was elected an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy.