Lake Lucerne

Nicholas Chevalier was born in Saint Petersburg but moved to Switzerland in his teens to study art. After further training in London, he sailed to Melbourne in 1854 where he remained for more than a decade, working as an illustrator and in great demand as a painter. As well as gaining important patronage (he received numerous commissions from the British royal family), Chevalier had a strong influence on the development of the fine arts in Australia. In 1874 he was appointed by the trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales to purchase works of art in London for the fledgling institution.