“(Sir) Charles Nicholson (1867-1949) ” by Herbert Arnould Olivier (1861

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(Sir) Charles Nicholson (1867-1949)

Herbert Arnould Olivier (1861–1952)

c. 1909

Oil on canvas

H 80 x W 65 cm (E)

Image credit: Southend-on-Sea City Council

Courtesy of Porters Civic House & Mayor's Parlour, Southend-on-Sea, Essex

Purchased as part of a property from Sir Charles Archibald Nicholson in 1932.

Reproduced via Art UK under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence (CC BY-NC). Click on the image to enlarge it. For commentary, see below.

Both subject and portraitist had made their names by the end of the Victorian period, but are largely thought of as Edwardian and early twentieth-century figures.

A personable young man not long turned 40, Nicholson was already one of the most respected architects of his time, and examples of his work cn be found on this website (see Related Material below).

As for Olivier, whose skills are well represented by this pleasing portrait, he had won the Creswick Prize for his landscape painting at the Royal Academy Schools in 1882, and his first exhibition, at the Fine Arts Society in 1885, was of works painted in India. However, he is best known for his accomplished World War I portraits — he was an official war artist. His career is said to have "spanned the turning point of High Victorian Art and the emergence of Impressionism" ("Herbert Arnould Olivier (1861-1952)"). — Jacqueline Banerjee

Related Material

Sir Charles Nicholson

Bibliography

Brodie, Antonia. Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Vol. II (L-Z). London: Continuum / RIBA, 2001. 262-63.

Dreweatts. "Herbert Arnould Olivier (1861-1952): Edwardian Artist and Traveller." Dreweatts. Web. 8 May 2026. https://www.dreweatts.com/news-videos/herbert-arnould-olivier-1861-1952-edwardian-artist-and-traveller-old-master-british-and-european-art-auction-14538/

Sir Charles Archibad Nicholson, 2nd Bart (1867–1949), Architect and Inhabitant of Porters. Art UK. Web. 7 May 2026.

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Created 7 May 2026