Scanned image of a drawing of a landscape entitled: 'Pentland Firth & Stroma', from David Nicolson's sketchbook. Brother of John Nicolson.

Description Scanned image of a drawing of a landscape entitled: 'Pentland Firth & Stroma', from David Nicolson's sketchbook. Brother of John Nicolson.

Date 20/8/1859

Collection Papers of John Nicolson, antiquarian, Keiss, Caithness, Scotland

Catalogue Number SC 880474

Category On-line Digital Images

Scope and Content Drawing titled 'Pentland Firth and Stroma, from West Canisbay House', Caithness, Highland The Pentland Firth separates Caithness, the most northerly county in mainland Scotland, from Orkney. The area is dominated by rugged cliffs, sweeping sandy bays and strong currents. This drawing, dated August 20th 1859, is by David Nicolson, John Nicolson's (1843-1934) brother who emigrated to Canada. It is one of a number from a small sketch book found amongst a collection of drawings by John Nicolson. It shows the island of Stroma and part of the Pentland Firth from West Canisbay House. In the foreground is the Canisbay church and graveyard where John Nicolson and his parents are buried. John Nicolson was born in Stemster, John O' Groats, and lived most of his life at Nybster. He was a skilled sculptor and artist with a keen interest in the archaeology of the area and undertook many excavations, illustrating his discoveries in sketches and drawings. The Nicolson collection offers an important insight into archaeological research in Caithness in the late 19th and early 20th century. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/880474

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap