( fl 1726–55). English painter. Nothing is known about the life of this sophisticated topographical painter. His undoubted works are limited to a few signed views of London and its vicinity; they combine a subtle palette, careful topographical detail and, in particular, a manner of figure painting that strongly recalls contemporary Venetian practice. A pair of views, the Fountain in the Middle Temple (signed and dated 1738; London, Middle Temple) and the Stocks Market, were engraved in 1738. A number of works are known from the 1740s; they include Charing Cross and Northumberland House (signed and dated 1746; London, N. Westminster Bank) and a pair of views of the Rotunda at Ranelagh (signed and dated ?1748; both formerly at Melbury House, Dorset; see 1990 exh. cat.). Nickolls almost certainly contributed figures to the work of contemporary landscape artists such as George Lambert (i) and Luke Sullivan (1705–71).