Explanatory Timelines Names Index First Owners
COLLECTORS
Explanatory
Timelines
Names Index
First
Owners
July 2020
NIXON FAMILY
Rev. Robert Nixon of Foots Cray (1758-1837) and his wife Ann Russell (1766-1808) (m. 1799)
It appears that there were 3 sons:
George Russell Nixon (1802-1878) - It is possible that pictures were bequethed to George - He emigrated to Australia in 1861 and maybe took his pictures or sold them before.
Rev.
Dr. Francis Russell Nixon, Bishop of Tasmania(1803- 1879) he
inherited 'Rising Squall' and 'Country Waggon"
Whereabouts
of the pictureuntil 1864 temp link to 59_50
Wyatt Russell Nixon. National records begin in 1837 and there is no trace of Wyatt. He probably died in infancy.
This is a note not yet included elsewhere: Recall that the 1864 Art
Journal entry for the 9th July 1864 sale referred to 'Rev. "J"
Nixon' and "Dr. Nixon" and that the assumption throughout the
literature is that these were Rev. Robert Nixon of Foots Cray and his
second son Rev. Dr. Francis Russell Nixon, Bishop of Tasmania. Incorrect
initials were also assigned in the McCormick sale (1920) as "H.D.
Nixon, Bishop of Tasmania". The Drake catalogue also below shows
incorrectly that the Waggoners was painted for the Bishop of Tasmania.
Below in the display banner 'Nixon Family 1793 to 1864' is the
wikisource entry for John Nixon. It appears that John Nixon (and this is
where it gets confusing because this is not, I think, John Nixon the
miniaturist) also an artist was Rev. Robert Nixon's (of Foots Cray)
brother; thus Rev. Dr. Francis Russell's (Bishop of Tasmania) uncle; and
an uncle may well have left a picture to his nephew; ie: the Art Journal
may have right to say that these were John Nixon's pictures. This would
not change the provenance in 1863/64 (just the first owner and this would
impact on the proposition that Turner took 'The Rising Squall' to Foots
Cray after the 1793 RA exhibition).
NIXON FAMILY DOCUMENT LIST
Hobart Town Daily Mercury 22nd June 1858
Francis and Anna List Of Sketches - offline sources
Francis and Anna, Anna's Letter of 12th February 1845 - offline sources
Francis Distant Land (i) Art and Society, (ii) Appendices, Art Loans - offline sources