In 2003 Alison Elliot was elected the first ever female Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. As an elder of the Church, she was also the first lay person to hold this post since George Buchanan in 1567. A Moderator’s main task is to chair the meetings of the General Assembly, held in May each year, and to lead daily worship, keep order and sign documents on behalf of the Assembly. Before taking on the 12-month honorary role in May 2004, Dr Elliot was director of Edinburgh University’s centre for theology and public issues. This sensitive portrait of Elliot, which incorporates visual clues to both religion and personality, was commissioned by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and shown in its ‘Keeping Faith’ exhibition in 2004.