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Initially apprenticed to a house painter, Nicol studied at the Trustees Academy under Sir William Allan. He proceeded to teach drawing at Leith High School and then spent four years teaching art in Dublin. On his return to Edinburgh in 1849, he concentrated on genre paintings depicting Irish life. Nicol exhibited at the RSA Annual Exhibition from 1842 until 1886 having moved to London in 1863. He became an Associate Member of the RSA in 1855 and an Academician in 1859.