THE ‘FATHER OF WATER COLOUR PAINTING'

                It’s not often that a town of 6,500 population produces an internationally known artist, and then forgets all about him. Most would have blue plaques outside his birth-place, and newsagents’ shelves crammed with books about him. Yet, Francis Nicholson of Pickering – ‘The Father of Water Colour Painting’, is   entirely forgotten!

                Nicholson was born in 1753, the son of a weaver and his Quaker wife, whose maiden name was Mary Jackson. His first efforts at school were poor, yet he   advanced in drawing and arithmetic, so much so, that his teacher told him he “would one day go to London and become a famous draughtsman”.

                After three years in Scarborough,  studying under a self-taught artist, he returned to Pickering, where he painted “dogs, dead game and favourite horses” as well as a few portraits of local gentlemen. His most pleasurable memory of that period was painting the ceiling of the summer house at Aislaby Hall for magistrate, Thomas Hayes. Finally, he was sent to London to study under the German artist, Conrad Martin Metz (1755 - 1827). He instantly fell in love with the city, and moved there permanently in 1801.

                In 1804, he combined with others to form ‘The Society of Painters in Water Colours’, becoming its President in 1812. Their exhibitions were an instant success. He was dubbed ‘The Father of English Water Colour’ by his contemporaries, his experiments having advanced techniques greatly. As a teacher, he was highly  regarded in fashionable London society, and was very attentive to the needs of students. He lamented the fact that all the great masters had taken their techniques to the grave with them, and, in 1820, published a ground-breaking book of  instruction in water colour painting. It sold out rapidly and went through several  editions.

                In 1816, he had found his two daughters, Sophia and Marianne, engaged in a newfangled modern process known as lithography. By 1820, he was considered first among the artists developing that process too!

                Nicholson died in 1844, aged 91, and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.

                Today, Nicholson’s water colours are represented in all the famous London galleries, Harvard and Princeton University collections and San Francisco Museum of Fine Art. The British Museum and the National Gallery of Canada have  notable collections of his lithographs. Yet, Pickering, his birth-place – has completely forgotten him!

                A small team – Judy Dixon, Gordon Bell and Colin Coulson, have been   researching Nicholson’s life and collecting whatever examples they could find. A mini-exhibition will be held in the Memorial Hall during Heritage weekend, 2010, and a booklet about him will be on sale. A much larger exhibition, to be held at Ryedale Folk Museum and a  biography by Gordon Bell are due in 2012. It is hoped that a blue plaque can be placed on Nicholson’s house. The Nicholson group’s efforts are part of Pickering’s National Lottery Heritage Fund application.

Colin Coulson.