John Colley NIXON [10110]

  General Notes:

John was in business with his brother Richard in Basinghall St., City of London, an accomplished amateur actor, he had a remarkable visual memory which he employed as an artist/caricaturist, he was a friend of artist Thomas Rowlandson
John exhibited at Royal Academy 1781 - 1815, 39 paintings in all. He was one time Secretary of Beefsteak Club. one of London's earliest clubs, it had a bohemian character

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography records an extract from the memoirs of a Henry Angelo : (John Colley Nixon) . . . . . resided for many years in Basinghall Street, where, over his dark warehouses, he and his brother Richard kept "Bachelor's Court"(Reminiscences Pg 208)

John Nixon:
. . . . . One of the most assiduous, and hitherto obscure, of the travelling artists was John Nixon, who was born in the 1750s and died at Ryde in the Isle of Wight in 1818. He was strictly an amateur painter, being in business with his brother Richard, as an Irish merchant. . . . . Nixon was not only an able landscapist, but also a notable caricaturist, and many prints were made from his drawings. As his friend Henry Angelo says in his Reminiscences : He "drew characteristics with no mean skill. He could sketch a portrait, with a few scratches of his pencil of a party with such marked traits of resemblance, as to be known at a glance."
In the 1780s and 1790s Nixon's business often took him to Ireland and he always returned with a full portfolio. In 1791; he was in Dublin with Grose preparing they latter's Antiquities of Ireland, but Grose died shortly after their arrival. He also visited Scotland at least once, and France and the Low Countries in 1783 and 1784; during the Peace of Amiens in 1802, and in 1814. However most of his sketching was done in the South of England, especially in the coastal resorts on extensive summer tours. On occasions was accompanied by other amateur and professional artists including Rowlandson him self who sometimes worked up Nixon's drawing for the engraver. Not only would Nixon draw the conventional beauties, but he would always have a pencil and paper to hand to sketch the party dining at an inn, a companion shaving, or bizarre characters glimpsed at a fair, concert or assize court. It is probably due to the friendship and example of Rowlandson that Nixon's work advances so strikingly in quality throughout his career . . . . .
Nixon was greatly valued both as a guest and as a host, and the house which he shared with his brother Richard was well known for the liberal scale of "the bachelor's style housekeeping" practiced there. As he himself put it: "I have no objection to placing my knees under another man's table, but I had rather seat him at my own." . . . . .
Despite this stated preference, he was to be seen in his invariable blue coat at all the entertainments of the Metropolis as well as at the fashionable resorts of Brighton and Bath. As a result of a rather obscure pun his attributes as a pleasant guest earned him the title of "the well-bred man".
His interest in the theatre was not limited to dining actors. He was a keen amateur performer and for several seasons was a leading member of the Margravine of Anspach's theatrical group at Brandenburg House in Hammersmith and Benham Park near Newbury. . . . .
Nixon was quite as at home in London as when touring the country or forming one of a house party. He was a Special Juryman at the Guildhall Court and was an avid trial-taster even when not involved himself. The courts naturally provided him with great scope for caricatures. The same was true of his other amusements, concerts and auctions. His drawings tell us much about the musical life of the capital,. . . . . His caricatures are seldom vicious, and indeed they often show a great tenderness for the subject, whether it be a beggar or cripple, an over-blown society lady or a small nephew trying on Nixon's uniform as captain in the Guildhall Volunteers.
Nixon is not a great artist, although at his best he can be very good indeed. It is often easy enough to fault his perspective or his anatomical drawing. His importance lies in the way in which he, unlike many of the other topographers and antiquaries, does so much more than present us with a dry and factual record of the country and buildings at a particular date. In his work we can see, perhaps even more than in the distortions and exaggerations of Rowlandson, exactly what people were like, what amused them and how they lived.
COUNTRY LIFE-MAY 12, 1977
JOHN NIXON AND HIS CIRCLE
By. HUON MALLALIEU.

There is no record of him ever marrying.

  Research Notes:

Important Research.
For many years institutions, historians and genealogists have believed, based on Farington's Diary, that James Nixon [10124] the miniaturist, was the half brother of John Colley Nixon and Rev Robert Nixon, two sons of Robert & Lucretia Nixon.
A close study of the Diary and the families by Stephen Massil reveals James had a sister Susanna Nixon who married Sir James-Nassau Colleton 3 Dec 1778 whose father was William Nixon of Leicester.
He finds no evidence in the Diary of James being the son of Robert Nixon, and concludes his father was William.
Furthermore one of James Nixon's portraits of 1793 is of a 'Miss Colleton', who Massil suggests was Susanna Boone Colleton (1787-1816) James Nixon's niece.
Ref: https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=DUcRAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA101&lpg=PA101&dq=Sir+James-Nassau+Colleton&source=bl&ots=mWacZEBVNZ&sig=MBNnn7V7dXXnADou2Ry8u_von00&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hAivVKyaG8Ln8AXSsYGwAg&ved=0CDcQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=Sir%20James-Nassau%20Colleton&f=false <https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=DUcRAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA101&lpg=PA101&dq=Sir+James-Nassau+Colleton&source=bl&ots=mWacZEBVNZ&sig=MBNnn7V7dXXnADou2Ry8u_von00&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hAivVKyaG8Ln8AXSsYGwAg&ved=0CDcQ6AEwCA>

Should you wish to discuss this proposition further, or have an interest in the Nixon families please contact Stephen Massil on swmassil@gmail.com