Erskine Nicol
, Scottish, 1825-1904
Title
A Seated Old ManDate1885
MediumGouache, bodycolour and graphite on paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 25.2 x 20.4 cm
Signedlower right: Nicol 85
Credit LinePurchased, 2005
Object numberNGI.19619
DescriptionAlthough best known for his depictions of the buffoontype Irish peasant that were so popular on the British market, the conditions of the rural poor were often reflected with sympathy in Nicol’s work. The character type shown here is typical of the kind that populates the artist’s genre paintings, which generally depict the poorer inhabitants of the countryside. This keenly observed study, most probably drawn from life, displays a liberal use of gouache on a heavy buff-coloured paper, which is a characteristic of his studies.ProvenanceGorry Gallery, Dublin; Private Collection, Dublin; purchased, Whyte's, Dublin, 22nd February 2005, lot 109Exhibition HistoryTaking Stock: Acquisitions 2000 -2010, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 13 March 2010 - 25 of July 2010