John Nixon (British c.1750-1818)
A collection of eight landscapes of English life
Each pen and ink and watercolour,
Each approximately 17 by 31 cm., 6¾ by 12 in.

All framed (8)

EXHIBITED
Aldeburgh, John Nixon (c.1750-1818), 1999

The present group of watercolours by John Nixon date from 1795-1815. They depict aspects of life in England at the time. They were discovered in a bound sketchbook by Cyril Fry in 1998 and had not seen the light of day for almost 200 years. Nixon was born in Belfast in the 1750's and came to Basinghall Street in London as a successful and wealthy merchant. He was also a gifted artist who exhibited thirty nine pictures at the Royal Academy from 1781-1815. He was a close friend of Thomas Rowlandson whose style his work closely resembles but without recourse to caricature. His appointment as the Hon. Secretary and Providore of teh Beefsteak Club, in London, brought him into the social scene. John was a bachelor, as was his brother Richard, both of whom entertained with lively routs held in their warehouse in London. John was an enthusiastic amateur actor and took part in many performances in the private theatre at Brandenburg House, Hammersmith; the home of the Margave and Margravina (formerly Lady Craven) of Anspach, where he was considered a star turn according to Henry Angelo the fencing master.