Nicholson, here portrayed in historical fancy dress, was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He worked mainly in Edinburgh where, as an artist and a man of independent means, he became an energetic promoter and the first Secretary of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1826. Nicholson specialised in portraiture in oils or watercolours. Many of his watercolour portraits of literary figures, such as Sir Walter Scott and Lord Jeffrey were reproduced as etchings, a type of printmaking for which he showed a particular talent.