The Governor's House, Colombo, Ceylon 1846-1849 by Andrew Nicholl.

Andrew Nicholl (1804–1886) was an Irish painter who did excellent illustrations depicting different aspects of the Ceylon in accurate and minute detail. However, it is worthy to note that he was in Ceylon for a comparatively short time of his artistic life and had time only to do a long term excursion only once during his three year stint in the country. Nevertheless, he has produced a wealth of information written down as notes and articles, a large volume of pencil sketches and a collection of watercolor paintings that help tell a great deal about the country and its landscape during the mid 19-th Centaury period.
He found patronage under Sir James Emerson Tennent, who funded a trip to London in 1830-1832. Tennent's patronage also secured for him an appointment as teacher of “landscape painting, scientific drawing and design” at the Colombo Academy (later Royal College, Colombo) in Ceylon and arrived in Sri Lanka in August 1846 to take up the post. He rewarded his patron (by then Colonial Secretary) by illustrating parts of the latter's descriptive book about the island, Ceylon, Physical, Historical and Topographical.
He was a personal friend of Sir James Emmerson-Tennent who was the Colonial Secretary to the Government of Ceylon. Tennent, who was a keen historian and naturalist, enlisted the help of his friend Nicholl to do a series of drawings and paintings to illustrate his numerous works. The two of them set out on a five week tour of the interior of the country which was a sketching tour to Nicholl and his numerous observations on the country were published in the Dublin University Magazine of 1852 under the title of ”A Sketching tour of five weeks in the forests of Ceylon.” This article shows his keen power of observation, the great ability of descriptive writing, his sensitivity and respect to the local people, culture and Buddhism. He had done very few studies of human beings but those include the leaders of the Matale Freedom Struggle, Gongalegoda Banda and Kudapola Hamuduruwo, after they were captured and imprisoned by the British Colonial forces.
He went to London in 1840 and came to Sri Lanka in 1846, to return to London in 1849. Nicholl continued to paint different scenes of Sri Lanka after his return from the numerous sketches made during his stay and some have been exhibited in London during the subsequent years. A collection containing 28 watercolor works done by Nicholl on Sri Lanka were presented to the National Museum in 1949 by Dr. Paul E. Peiris. This collection was exhibited in 1998 in commemoration with the fifty years of independence.
Queen Victoria purchased several of his drawings in 1858 and 1870. The Ulster Museum has a collection of about 380 of his watercolours and drawings. He died at Camberwell on 16 April 1886 and was buried at West Norwood Cemetery. The Ulster History Circle has a blue plaque to him at his birth house at 10 Church Lane, Belfast.