Portrait of the Month at the National Galleries of Scotland

2011/12 - Missing

National Galleries of Scotland

Missing, Graham Fagen - 2011. About three years ago, I started talking to the National Theatre of Scotland to see whether there might be things the Theatre and the Portrait Gallery could do together. Like so many others I was very impressed by Black Watch, their play on the British army in Iraq, and I liked Caledonia, a work that linked the ill-fated Scottish colonial experiment in Panama with the recent banking crisis. John Tiffany, Vicky Featherstone and I talked about how the Gallery and the Theatre might work together and when I was told about their intention to adapt Andrew O’Hagan’s novel The Missing for the stage I knew that that was something that could also work for us. The Missing reflects the lives of those who have fallen off the map - the opposite of what people expect in a traditional portrait gallery. Graham Fagen was chosen to make the video piece that would be shown alongside the stage production but could equally well stand alone as an independent work of art. That’s how Missing will be shown when the Portrait Gallery reopens on 1st December. Fagen and O’Hagan knew each other as teenagers growing up in the New Town of Irvine on the Ayrshire coast. Missing opens with the camera looking out over the Firth of Clyde and continues through Irvine and Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom to end on the Embankment in London. Fagen’s work is a meditation on the themes of O’Hagan’s novel; absence and loss, and their impact on those who remain. It has been great working with the imaginative and professional team at the National Theatre of Scotland; we share a commitment to reflect the concerns of contemporary Scotland and this thought-provoking commission – our first in film – fulfils that perfectly.© Graham Fagen

2011/11 - Queen Anne, when Princess of Denmark, 1665 – 1714

National Galleries of Scotland

Queen Anne, when Princess of Denmark, 1665 – 1714, Queen Anne, Jan van der Vaardt, Willem Wissing - About 1685. Queen Anne, the last of the reigning Stuart monarchs, is shown here as a young woman, shortly after her marriage to Prince George of Denmark. Her marriage was of huge importance to the survival of the Stuart dynasty. She was the only unmarried, legitimate, Protestant member of the royal family and because of the strong anti-Catholic feeling in Britain at the time, it was vital she marry and produce Protestant Stuart heirs. Her uncle Charles II had no legitimate children, her father (the future James VII and II) and step-mother were Catholic, and her sister Mary, who had recently married the Prince of Orange (the future joint-monarchs, William and Mary), was yet to produce children. Anne married George of Denmark in 1683, and of their many children, none survived into adulthood. She became queen in 1702, and at her death her Protestant cousin succeeded her as George I. The court painter Willem Wissing painted this superb portrait after Anne’s marriage, and his studio assistant Jan van der Vaardt probably painted the draperies and the flowers. The design of the portrait is intended to flatter Anne by elongating her body, and her pose adds to the sense of grace and beauty. The dog at her feet, barking at her to catch her attention, is a King Charles spaniel, a breed that was popular with Charles II. This reminds us of Anne’s loyalty to her uncle, and in turn to the Stuart family that she was a member of. The portrait will be on display in the exhibition Reformation to Revolution when the Portrait Gallery reopens on 1 December.

2011/10 - Joan Eardley, 1921 - 1963. Artist

National Galleries of Scotland

Joan Eardley, 1921 - 1963. Artist, Joan Eardley, Joan Eardley - 1943. Artists’ self-portraits are fascinating. Whereas some are clearly the result of close self-examination, others, such as those of George Jamesone or John Byrne, present the artists as they wanted to be seen, reminding us that portraiture can be used to construct images as well as faithfully reproduce likenesses. Some self-portraits may simply be technical experiments, with the artist using themselves as subjects to try out new methods and approaches. Youthful works by well-known artists are particularly intriguing - David Wilkie’s Self-portrait comes immediately to mind. With hindsight, it is tempting to read more into such images than we probably should. This work by Joan Eardley was her final-year diploma piece for Glasgow School of Art. Sketchy and painted at great speed, it appears unfinished or severely distressed. Should it be seen as a tentative reflection of a young artist unsure of her own identity or what the future might hold? Or was it simply a quick stylistic exercise demonstrating her current interest in early Italian renaissance frescoes? Is it helpful to know her father committed suicide and she was herself prone to depression? Ultimately, each viewer will interpret the painting in their own way, although several facts belie the idea of this being either a tentative painting or a quick study in technique: the fact that the painting was presented as her diploma work, it won Eardley the Art School’s annual prize for portraiture, and was bought by her tutor in a year when her work as a whole was described as ‘remarkably powerful’ by the outgoing Principal.© The Eardley Estate

2011/09 - Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1860 - 1937. Author

National Galleries of Scotland

Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1860 - 1937. Author, Sir James Matthew Barrie, Sir William Nicholson - 1904. 'Cabinet half length, standing in profile to left, wearing dark brown-grey suit, white wing collar and dark tie, hands in pockets, background light, on which the figure throws a shadow.' I discovered this very fitting description whilst looking at the files held at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. Typed in courier font on a sheet of thin paper, these few words seem to capture the entire mood of the portrait. This diminutive figure poses awkwardly, his hands in pockets. Perhaps his fists are clenched in childish defiance. He avoids our gaze. Alone in an empty space, save his own shadow. This portrait of Kirriemuir-born J.M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan, was painted in 1904 during rehearsals of the stage production. At the same time, the artist Sir William Nicholson was designing the stage sets for the play, when it was suggested that Barrie should have his portrait painted. Though Barrie reluctantly agreed, he later protested in a letter: 'I have long ceased to be on speaking terms with my face, so why have it painted?' Painted in profile - usually reserved for heads of states or for physiognomical studies - Barrie is an unwilling sitter. He doesn't seem to want the attention, desperate to sneak back behind the shadows. Of all the portraits in our collection, I can imagine this was one of the most uncomfortable artist and sitter relationships. Did he ever look at the finished portrait? Much has subsequently been written and debated on Barrie's personal life and his relationship with the Llewellyn Davies family - the inspiration for Peter Pan. As a portrait study though, it intrigues. There is such a sadness to the painting, a moment frozen in time. The responsibility that adulthood brings seems to bare heavy on his tiny frame. This portrait will be hanging in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery Café when we reopen on 30 November.© Elizabeth Banks

2011/08 - Self-portrait as Kurt Cobain, as Andy Warhol, as Myra Hindley, as Marilyn Monroe

National Galleries of Scotland

Self-portrait as Kurt Cobain, as Andy Warhol, as Myra Hindley, as Marilyn Monroe, Douglas Gordon, Douglas Gordon - 1996. All museums confront their visitors with the basic question: 'who am I?' By reacting to objects or to works of art, we learn about ourselves, what moves us, what interests us. This is especially true in a portrait gallery where images and their narratives, from the past or the present, prompt us to reflect on issues of identity and invite us to think about our own position in the wider world. As Douglas Gordon’s self-portrait suggests, there may not be simple answers to the questions we might pose about ourselves. In a challenging way, he shows himself wearing an ill-fitting, floppy blonde wig and associates this portrait with a range of iconic images of heroes and villains. It is an ambiguous homage to bleached hair; natural, tinted with peroxide or, in the case of Warhol, also bewigged. Not all of us would feel comfortable with the artist’s choice of adopted personalities but we can surely all relate to the idea of layered or complex identities. As we prepare for the reopening of the Portrait Gallery, it seems clear that there has never been a greater need for an institution in Scotland that can offer layered narratives and critical perspectives on our history and identity. It is part of the role for the new Portrait Gallery to demonstrate the fluidity of boundaries, the unreliability of icons and the danger of labels. There is no single, simple story about what it means to be Scottish, to be British, to be European in a modern global society, but we can help the public to plot their own complex relationship to their world. In that sense, this witty and provocative image by Douglas Gordon could almost stand as a manifesto for the new Scottish National Portrait Gallery. © Douglas Gordon/VG Bildkunst, Bonn 2012

2011/07 - John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, 1616 - 1682. Statesman

National Galleries of Scotland

John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, 1616 - 1682. Statesman, John Maitland, 2nd Earl and 1st Duke of Lauderdale, John Roettier - 1672. John (or Jan) Roettier (1631-1703) was a Flemish engraver who was invited to work in England by Charles II in 1661. He became Chief Engraver of the Royal Mint in London, where he worked with his brothers, and later his sons, making medals and coins. John Evelyn, in his famous diary, described Roettier as ‘that incomparable graver… who emulates even the Ancients in both metal and stone’. Roettier struck this medal of John Maitland, the King’s Secretary of State for Scotland, in 1672. The medal commemorates Charles II creating him Duke of Lauderdale and awarding him the Order of the Garter earlier that year. It shows a profile portrait of the Duke, wearing a contemporary wig, but dressed in a Roman costume, with pteruges (leather straps) and a lion mask epaulette. This hybridised appearance was meant to make the recognisable Duke appear as if he was a military commander on a classical medal or coin. The cloak, or paludamentum, that the Duke wears was an item of clothing that was ceremonially fastened over a Roman commander’s shoulders before they went into battle. By showing the Duke wearing such a cloak, Roettier is referencing the Third Anglo-Dutch war that Great Britain was then engaged in, and in turn the viewer is meant to be reminded of the Duke’s role as one of Charles II’s most important and powerful ministers. Likewise, the reverse of the medal shows Minerva, the Roman goddess of war, holding the Duke’s helmet and crest, below the motto ‘Consilio et Animis’, which translates as ‘by counsel and courage’. In reality Lauderdale was a controversial and often unpopular figure, and so the medal would have helped restore his reputation. The medal will be on display when the Scottish National Portrait Gallery reopens in November this year.

2011/06 - Scottish Miners

National Galleries of Scotland

Scottish Miners, Milton Rogovin - 1982. The American photographer Milton Rogovin, who died in January this year, took this photograph. It’s part of the ‘Scottish Miners’ series he created in the 1980s. Born in New York to Jewish immigrants from Lithuania, Rogovin, the youngest of three sons, went on to become an optometrist and one of America’s most humanitarian social documentary photographers. He dedicated his life to creating photos of working people - the poor and the forgotten. ‘The rich have their own photographers’ he said. He was deeply moved by the poverty of the Great Depression and subsequently tried to help the dispossessed get their eyes checked and have access to affordable glasses. His philanthropy and strong communist beliefs drew the attention of Joe McCarthy and the House of Un-American Activities Committee. In 1957 Rogovin was declared ‘The Top Communist in Buffalo’ by his local newspaper, but he refused to be silenced and found a new political voice through his camera. I’m the daughter of a Liverpool shipbuilder and this photograph reminds me of my childhood. I was initially drawn to it because of the dominant retro wallpaper and the kitsch print above the fireplace (which I too have in my house now!). I like the fact that they are a normal working class couple completely at ease being photographed by Rogovin. They stare into the camera as if it were a family snap. There is real warmth and tenderness between this couple; you’ll notice they’re holding hands; she has his clasped in hers, and he looks rather stiff, but compliant all the same. The image is striking in its directness; I feel that it’s a celebration of their life, their existence and their humble abode rather than a ploy for pity. For me, any artist who treats their subjects with such integrity, warmth and kindness is a hero. Milton Rogovin was a true Samaritan and his remarkable body of work continues to inspire me.© Milton Rogovin 1982 Courtesy the Rogovin Collection, LLC

2011/05 - James Nasmyth, 1808 - 1890. Inventor of the steam hammer (Self-portrait)

National Galleries of Scotland

James Nasmyth, 1808 - 1890. Inventor of the steam hammer (Self-portrait), James Nasmyth, James Nasmyth - 1881. James Nasmyth painted and sketched all his life. ‘Indeed drawing was my method of speaking’, he wrote. And as the 11th child of Alexander Nasmyth (1758-1840), several of whose works will be returning to the revitalised Portrait Gallery, this was not perhaps surprising. But it was not his only means of expression: at about the same time as he drew himself in this portrait, he was working on his autobiography, edited by Samuel Smiles and published three years later. This explores the engineering talent for which he is principally remembered (he gives his name to the mechanical engineering building at Heriot-Watt University) but is also a wonderfully vivid account of his life from childhood during Edinburgh’s golden age at the beginning of the 19th century into the high Victorian period of giant engineering endeavour – throughout all of which he was an enthusiastic, observant and, above all, inventive participant. Both book and portrait are accounts of an amiable man who knew very well his own mind. (He met and became engaged to his wife in the course of part of one day when in transit between York and Sheffield.) By 1881, the date of the picture, we see a man who has already been retired from business for 25 years at his sprawling house in Kent (splendidly renamed Hammerfields in commemoration of his celebrated steam hammer) and who was now studying astronomy and photography. Two photographs in the collection aptly illustrate these enthusiasms: Back of Hand (his own) and Wrinkled Apple both suggest how the surface of the moon had formed.

2011/04 - Jackie Kay, born 1961. Poet

National Galleries of Scotland

Jackie Kay, born 1961. Poet, Jackie Kay, Michael Snowden - about 2004. This sculpture by Michael Snowden is part of Edinburgh Park’s public arts programme. Twelve life-size bronze castings of heads are placed throughout the park, each celebrating a Scottish poet or writer. The experience of sitting for this bust inspired Jackie Kay to write a collection of poems, entitled Life Mask (2005). The poems deal with both the physical process of modelling for a sculpture and with identity and the different masks we wear. Kay is an Edinburgh-born poet and writer. Her work explores issues of identity. Kay’s birth father was a Nigerian forestry student, her mother a nurse in north-east Scotland. In her critically acclaimed debut poetry collection, The Adoption Papers (1991), Kay writes about her adoption by white Scottish parents in 1961. Last year she returned to this subject in her memoir Red Dust Road (2010), which details her experiences of meeting her birth parents. The book is filled with questions about inheritance and belonging, knowing that ‘part of me came from Africa, part of me was foreign to myself’. Yet the Africa that formed in her imagination was fed by the myths and stereotypes of colonial Britain. These are just some of the concerns we will be exploring in the new Migration Stories Gallery in the re-opened Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The Gallery will deal with the question of what is Scottish identity, encompassing issues of place, belonging, exile, and tradition. It will examine how migrants, both into and out of Scotland, continue to shape Scotland’s identity.© M A Snowden

2011/03 - Lady Arabella Stuart, c 1577 - 1615. Only daughter of the 6th Earl of Lennox

National Galleries of Scotland

Lady Arabella Stuart, c 1577 - 1615. Only daughter of the 6th Earl of Lennox, Robert Peake, Lady Arabella Stuart - 1605. Arabella Stuart was the daughter of Lord Darnley’s younger brother, Charles Stuart, Earl of Lennox, and the only legitimate cousin of James VI and I. As a descendant of James II of Scotland, and the great-great-granddaughter of Henry VII, she was also an heir to both the Scottish and English thrones. On the surface this picture appears to be a standard, formal Jacobean portrait, but its messages and symbols refer to the sitter’s fascinating life. Arabella was brought up by her maternal grandmother, the Countess of Shrewsbury, the famous ‘Bess of Hardwick’. Her grandmother had kept her in semi-captivity, although she occasionally took her to Elizabeth I’s court, in the hope that the English queen might name her as her heir. Both Elizabeth and James VI considered various marriage proposals for Arabella, but as she was so close to both thrones and neither monarch wanted to encourage any political or religious reactions, negotiations were never finalised. When the portrait was painted Arabella was fourth in the line of succession, after the king’s three children. The artist, Robert Peake, was painter to Henry, Prince of Wales, and perhaps Arabella was trying to show allegiance to her Stuart cousins by having her portrait painted by this particular artist. However, in 1610 Arabella secretly married William Seymour, Lord Beauchamp. The couple were subsequently imprisoned, as they had not asked the king’s permission to marry, and more importantly, because Beauchamp was also an heir to the English throne. James was fearful of any revolt against his rule, and sent Arabella to the Tower of London, where she eventually starved herself to death. The dog in the portrait symbolises faithfulness, and the watch that Arabella holds indicates she is aware of the passing of time and the inevitability of death. The portrait will be on display when the Scottish National Portrait Gallery reopens later this year

2011/02 - What You See Is Where You're At

National Galleries of Scotland

What You See Is Where You're At, Luke Fowler - 2001. Portraiture has captivated artists for centuries but as more contemporary artists engage with the genre, our definition of what constitutes a portrait must evolve. In selecting the film, What you see is where you’re at by Glasgow-based artist, Luke Fowler, I want to show that portraiture is being explored in new and intriguing ways, offering a refreshing take on the traditional. Fowler’s method of working is to collage archival film, his own footage and sound (often recorded himself) to form an impressionistic portrait. Pushing the limits and conventions of biographical and documentary film-making, he creates films concerned with authenticity and identity. What you see is where you're at centres on RD Laing, the pioneering Scottish psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and writer. Laing shot to fame in the 1960s with his book, The Divided Self, a ground-breaking study of schizophrenia. He then helped establish a residential community at Kingsley Hall in the East End of London. The aim was to provide alternatives to the traditional methods of treating those designated ‘mentally ill’. Residents at Kingsley Hall lived communally with the therapists in an environment that broke down the established doctor-patient hierarchies, and which was free from restraining drug treatments. What you see is where you’re at is a unique and compelling portrait of Laing, very different to another, more conventional, portrait of the psychiatrist also in the Portrait Gallery’s collection. Although both undeniably reveal aspects of his character, I believe Fowler has captured something which goes beyond physical likeness and subtle symbolism. Unconstrained by tradition, What you see is where you’re at offers a hypnotic insight into Laing’s beliefs, challenges and achievements during his time at Kingsley Hall. Portraiture may be constrained by looking at an individual but, as this contemporary portrait shows, portraiture can be as exciting and stimulating as the artist who creates it.© The Artist

2011/01 - Edwin Morgan, 1920 - 2010. Poet

National Galleries of Scotland

Edwin Morgan, 1920 - 2010. Poet, David Annand, Edwin Morgan - about 2004. For me, no other contemporary figure embodies Scotland more than the poet Edwin Morgan, Scotland’s poet laureate. Morgan was born in 1920 and raised in Glasgow, where he subsequently studied and lectured at the university. The topics of his poems embrace contemporary Scottish life, historical figures and imaginary future worlds. In addition to being a poet, Edwin Morgan is also a renowned translator and has a great mastery, understanding and appreciation of language. Nowhere is this more prominent than in his concrete poems, a concept he started to explore in the 1960s. Whilst Morgan kept to creating patterns on a page, another artist of the time with whom he had contact, Ian Hamilton Finlay, explored concrete poetry in a literal sense, shaping and incorporating words into actual structures. This crossover of art forms is something which Morgan has also embraced, specifically in his 'Instamatic Poems' which capture a moment and describe a scene frozen in time, much like a painting or a photograph, leaving the reader to envisage what events might have led up to the scene and what might follow. Echoing this interplay of art and language the creator of this sculpture of Morgan, David Annand, is well known for the influence of poetry on his work, most notably his piece on Perth High Street Nae Day Sae Dark, a testimony to the poet William Soutar. It is this combination of people, art forms and contemporary and historical Scotland which will be pulled together in the Portrait Gallery when it reopens, the aim being to create a true Portrait of a Nation to which all Scots can relate and contribute.© David A Annand, Sculptor

2010/12 - Charles II, 1630 - 1685. King of Scots 1649 - 1685. King of England and Ireland 1660 - 1685 (When Prince of Wales, with a page)

National Galleries of Scotland

Charles II, 1630 - 1685. King of Scots 1649 - 1685. King of England and Ireland 1660 - 1685 (When Prince of Wales, with a page), Charles II, William Dobson - About 1642. This wonderful portrait shows the future Charles II (1630 – 1685), one of Britain’s most popular monarchs, when he was Prince of Wales. It was painted by William Dobson (1611 - 1646) in Oxford in 1642 or 1643, when the court was based there during the Civil War. It was likely that Charles I commissioned Dobson to paint this picture to commemorate his twelve year old son having been present at the Battle of Edgehill (which can be seen in the background) on 23 October 1642. Prince Charles is shown holding a commander’s baton and wearing a breastplate from a suit of armour, so that he appears as if he is a military leader. Although he was nominally in control of 2000 troops during Edgehill, this was his first time on the battlefield, and he was totally inexperienced as an active soldier. In fact his presence at the battle was more of a hindrance than a help – in the confusion of the fighting, he rode straight into the Parliamentarian cavalry, shouting ‘I fear them not’ when he had to be saved by his own men. Luckily, the portrait was not commissioned to display specific biographical details about the prince’s experience at Edgehill, but instead it served to convey the court’s belief in their political views and their optimism in believing they would win the Civil War. There was a necessity for the royalists to produce images that showed them as heroic and triumphant, and this portrait would also remind contemporary viewers that the Prince of Wales would carry on fighting for the monarchical system should anything happen to Charles I during the war. Dobson’s depiction of the future Charles II was chosen as Portrait of the Month as 2010 is the 350th anniversary of the Restoration, when Charles was invited in 1660 to return from exile and rule as king, after eleven years of republicanism. Dobson’s portrait will be on display when the Scottish National Portrait Gallery reopens in November 2011.

2010/11 - Anne Bayne, Mrs Allan Ramsay, d. 1743. Wife of the artist Allan Ramsay

National Galleries of Scotland

Anne Bayne, Mrs Allan Ramsay, d. 1743. Wife of the artist Allan Ramsay, Allan Ramsay, Anne Bayne Ramsay, Mrs Allan Ramsay - About 1739. Allan Ramsay painted this portrait of his first wife, Anne Bayne, in about 1739. Anne was the granddaughter of the great Scottish architect Sir William Bruce (whose portrait by John Michael Wright is also in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery collection) and the daughter of Alexander Bayne of Logie who was Professor of Municipal Law at Edinburgh University. Ramsay called Anne his ‘spouse’ before he left Scotland for Italy in 1736, although their marriage contract appears to have been signed in 1739, a year after his return. It’s not known if this portrait was painted before or after Ramsay’s visit to Italy. Anne gave birth to three children, Allan, Bayne and Anne, all of whom died young, and she herself died in 1743. This work is a stunning example of Ramsay’s early portraiture, and shows his precocious talent for draughtsmanship. It also reveals that even at a relatively young age he had mastered painting the way in which light falls on different surfaces, such as Anne’s left cheek, or her crumpled sleeve. At first this portrait appears stark and formal, and it certainly seems a very direct, unflattering portrayal of Anne, yet we do get the impression that Ramsay was setting out to produce an affectionate portrait. While the formality of the composition seems constrained and respectful there are also intimate details such as the small scar under the left side of Anne’s bottom lip, and the enigmatic smile that suggests something of the relationship between the sitter and her artist husband. The portrait of Anne Bayne will be included in ‘Citizens of the World’ one of the inaugural exhibitions when the Portrait Gallery reopens in November 2011.

2010/10 - Alasdair Gray, b. 1935. Novelist

National Galleries of Scotland

Alasdair Gray, b. 1935. Novelist, Alasdair Gray, Iain Stewart - . Born in 1934, Alasdair Gray has become quite the ubiquitous Scottish cultural figure, with his novel Lanark (which he illustrated himself, hence the recurring William Blake comparisons) on the literature syllabus in Scottish universities and various murals in Glasgow – most famously the ceiling of the Oran Mor. For this photograph, Gray has clearly given his pose a lot of thought, to the point of sketching a miniature portrait of himself wearing the exact same checked shirt. The result is surprisingly humorous, the serious expression on the artist’s face(s) contrasting with the surprise of finding oneself in front of two Alasdair Grays and having to take a second (or third) look to ensure this isn’t some sort of optical illusion. This serious face floating above the artist’s shoulder can also be taken as a hint to the self-criticism experienced by any artist during the creative process – the feeling another you is looking over your shoulder at the canvas or sheet of paper, harshly commenting on the quality of what’s just been produced – and the subsequent difficulty of having to trust oneself with a new work. But it is also another fine example of Gray’s frequently used “double perspective”. Using two different points of perspective for one subject is what gives his cityscapes their peculiar and distinctive style. In this case, the spectator becomes the subject, scrutinised at by two Alasdair Grays as if they were his model.© Photograph by Iain Stewart

2010/09 - Flora Clift Stevenson, 1840 - 1905. Educationalist and philanthropist

National Galleries of Scotland

Flora Clift Stevenson, 1840 - 1905. Educationalist and philanthropist, Alexander Ignatius Roche, Flora Clift Stevenson - about 1904. As Flora Clift Stevenson died in 1905, I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the likeness, and would evaluate this painting’s style as typical of the age; accomplished but unexciting. But beyond the artistic surface, what does the painting mean to me; a 21st century woman confronted with an image of a 19th century version? There are two ways to read the painting in search of meaning. Firstly, I can ‘cold-read’ her; projecting a psychological portrait of corsetry and sternness, with connotations of the buttoned-up and forbidding. But is my imagination accurate? In her zeal to have the delinquent and impoverished of her era educated, Flora tolerated no compromise: food and clothing were only provided on condition of attendance at school. And she didn’t believe in welfare either – as it inclined parents to responsibility-shirking. Is there also a psychological portrait here, as well as a technically proficient one? But the other reading is symbolic: a woman represented with written-upon paper in her hand signifies an intellect, and a place in the public domain at a time when women were denied the right to vote. Here was also a suffragette; a passionate advocate for the right of women to be university-educated; and a woman at the heart of legislative reform in Scottish education. (She was part of a select committee in 1887 to compel ‘neglected’ children to attend school.) Flora may have had a ‘grand manner’ (she was an intimidating presence for parents whose offspring benefited from her educational activity) but without her, our right to an education in Scotland may have been less-assured. Victorian portraits often invoke presumption in the viewer of a time and place that has no meaning to ‘the here and now’. Flora’s portrait reminds us that some people, and some paintings, are always relevant to the here and now; brown paint and imperious ways notwithstanding.

2010/08 - James MacMillan, b. 1959. Composer

National Galleries of Scotland

James MacMillan, b. 1959. Composer, Calum Colvin, James MacMillan - 1996. August is Festival time in Edinburgh, with the streets, theatres, concert halls and galleries alive with colour and sound. James MacMillan, one of today’s most successful composers, studied music at the University of Edinburgh and his first full-length opera, Ines de Castro, premiered at the 1996 Edinburgh Festival by Scottish Opera. As a fellow Edinburgh University music graduate who has sung some of MacMillan’s choral music, I’ve always been fascinated by this intriguing portrait. I particularly like the feeling it gives of seeing through the composer’s face into his world. Calum Colvin was commissioned by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery to create the portrait and visited MacMillan in his Glasgow home to see where and how he worked. To make this photographic work he built a set in his Edinburgh studio which included references to aspects of MacMillan’s work (such as the opera Ines de Castro) and character, and then painted images onto the three-dimensional objects. This month the Royal Society of Edinburgh is awarding MacMillan with a Royal Medal for his outstanding contribution to music.© Calum Colvin

2010/07 - James Boswell, 1740 - 1795. Diarist and biographer of Dr Samuel Johnson

National Galleries of Scotland

James Boswell, 1740 - 1795. Diarist and biographer of Dr Samuel Johnson, James Boswell, George Willison - 1765. This portrait shows James Boswell – lawyer, diarist and biographer of Samuel Johnson – at the age of 24. The brooding elemental setting alludes to a continental location and bears witness to the fact that Boswell was seeking more to life than his projected destiny in the Scottish legal world. The portrait was painted in Rome during his Grand Tour, which he had embarked upon in 1763. Boswell revealed the neutral pose he adopted for his sitting with the artist, George Willison, describing it as “a plain, bold, serious attitude”. The wealth of painterly detail employed to render the costume – velvet, fur, lace, brocade, silk and felt – demand that onlookers linger in front of the painting for reasons other than a glance at the face of the young Boswell. Colour is used to ensure that every part of the picture is explored – the green of Boswell’s coat chimes with the colour of the sea behind and the embroidered brocade leads upwards to the owl and its piercing yellow eyes. At this stage of dissection the sitter could be thought of as merely a mannequin for the display of the artist’s skill. This thought is eroded with the inclusion of a detail that reveals the character of the sitter – Boswell’s shirt poking out at his stomach due to several unfastened buttons. Although painted in Willison’s studio in the late spring of 1765, all nature is present and the painting comes alive with sounds of an emerald sea below a darkened sky. Willison’s portrait can be regarded as a comment on the progress of Boswell’s Grand Tour. From his journals we know that he wore the same coat – a “greatcoat of green camlet lined with fox-skin fur, with the collar and cuffs of the same fur” – and waistcoat, six months earlier to meet the French philosophers Rousseau and Voltaire. Willison’s portrait of Boswell will be on display when the Portrait Gallery reopens in November 2011, in the exhibition Citizens of the World.

2010/06 - Mr Laing or Laine

National Galleries of Scotland

Mr Laing or Laine, Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill, Mr Laing or Lane - 1843. The image of this dedicated follower of sports fashion, Mr Laing (or Laine), was created by pioneers of photography David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson. With his brooding stare, determined stance and a waistband high enough to make Simon Cowell wince, the image has understandably become a popular picture postcard. The portrait of the tennis racket-wielding Mr Laing was created in 1843, using William Henry Fox Talbot’s sophisticated calotype process, in the same year Adamson established his studio on Edinburgh’s Calton Hill. The calotype process was truly revolutionary, capable of producing multiple prints of the one image, unlike the Daguerreotype, the predominant photographic process of the time. Hill, a prominent painter, had become convinced of the benefits of photography whilst creating his epic painting The First General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland; signing the Act of Separation and Deed of Demission - 23rd May 1843, the first painting to be created using photography as source material. The painting has hung in the Free Presbytery Hall, the kirk overlooking the National Gallery of Scotland, since 1866. Hill and Adamson worked on hundreds of images together, a great many of which are portraits, and are cherished, alongside Mr Laing, within the National Galleries Collection.

2010/05 - Mary of Guise, 1515 - 1560. Queen of James V

National Galleries of Scotland

Mary of Guise, 1515 - 1560. Queen of James V, Corneille de Lyon, Mary of Guise - About 1537. Corneille de Lyon’s appealing portrait of the recently-widowed Mary of Guise (1515-60) was most likely painted to promote an advantageous second marriage. Mary was a member of a powerful French aristocratic family, and her portrait would have been painted in the autumn of 1537 when she was in Lyon with the court. By the end of the year she had been persuaded by the French king to marry James V of Scotland, to help maintain the ‘Auld Alliance’ between the two countries. Twelve years after James V’s death, Mary became regent of Scotland, ruling the country on behalf of their daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, who had been living in France since she was a small child. Mary’s regency was focused on supporting her daughter’s dynastic rights and (unsuccessfully) on keeping Scotland Catholic and pro-French. Mary’s bravery and determination during this period of religious and political turmoil won her great respect and she remains a popular figure to this day. The Netherlandish artist Corneille de Lyon (around 1510 - around 1575) was from The Hague but worked in France, where he produced small-scale portraits painted on wood, all with plain green or blue backgrounds. Despite their diminutive size Corneille’s portraits give the viewer an insight to the sitters’ personalities, and in this portrait we can sense the intelligence and humour that Mary of Guise was famous for. This portrait will be included in the exhibition Church and State when the Portrait Gallery reopens in 2011. It was chosen as May’s Portrait of the Month because it was on 9 May 1538 that Mary married James V, by proxy, and became queen of Scots.

2010/04 - Bill Gibb, 1943 - 1988

National Galleries of Scotland

Bill Gibb, 1943 - 1988, Bill Gibb, Michael Leonard - 1987. As a fashion design graduate and dressmaker I jumped at the chance to write about one of my favourite designers, and one of my favourite artworks in the Portrait Gallery’s collection. Bill Gibb was born in 1943 in Fraserburgh and lived on a dairy farm as a child. He studied at St Martin’s School of Art and the Royal College of Art during the sixties. In 1967 he opened his first boutique and in 1970 he won the Vogue designer of the year award. His outfits were handcrafted and original works of art; each piece could take months to complete. He used patchwork, embroidery, beading and appliqué to create design masterpieces. Gibb was inspired by the Medieval and Renaissance periods and European folk costume and worked closely with Kaffe Fassett, the knitwear and fabric designer.Gibb was one of the greats of seventies fashion. His designs were the epitome of the age and as a child of the seventies I wore many outfits inspired by his designs. During the power dressing eighties his designs began to go out of fashion; his last collection was in 1986, although he continued to work for private clients. He died of cancer in 1988—he was only 44.In Michael Leonard’s beautiful trompe l’oeil pencil drawing, Gibb is convincingly fashioned as a Renaissance or Tudor gentleman, as seen in portraits by Steven van der Meulen. The drawing has been created as an illustration or fashion plate, unceremoniously ripped out from an antique book. This adds to the illusion that the sitter was indeed a gentleman from the 16th Century. The artist made a series of drawings of this kind, placing contemporary sitters in a different time from their own and matching their physical appearance to the work of famous (historical) artists so that the sitters did not look out of place. Here Leonard pictures Gibb in an era and costume which the sitter had studied and loved.© Michael Leonard

2010/03 - (Lady) Naomi Mitchison, 1897 - 1999. Author

National Galleries of Scotland

(Lady) Naomi Mitchison, 1897 - 1999. Author, Percy Wyndham Lewis, Lady Naomi Mitchison - 1938. This portrait of the writer, socialist and feminist, Naomi Mitchison, is compelling and enigmatic in equal measure. Despite their political differences (Lewis held extreme Rightwing views), artist and sitter were close friends. Their unlikely friendship, which began in the early 1930s, was lasting and evidently deep. This portrait commemorates their relationship. It is Mitchison the author whom Lewis presents here. Mitchison was writing The Blood of the Martyrs, a historical novel set in Rome at the time of the persecution of the early Christians. The work had contemporary relevance as it drew forceful parallels with Nazi Germany and that regime’s victimizations. The painting, like Mitchison’s novel, is also a kind of allegory. Lewis made a drawing of her at the time which he entitled The Tragic Muse – a title that would be apt for the painting. The inclusion of a depiction of the crucifixion may be a reference to the moral tone of Mitchison’s book. Paused in her work, the weight of melancholy in action is upon her. As the portrait dates from 1938, there may be an additional reference to the civil war in Catholic Spain. As Paul O’Keeffe, author of Wyndham Lewis: Some Sort of Genius and interviewer of Mitchison towards the end of her life has written, ‘The pensive frown on her face in the picture was, she claimed, a reflection of the brooding anxiety of the times.’ Mitchison said of this portrait by Lewis: ‘It is not, and never was, a photographic likeness, but I would hope to be remembered by it because, I think, he got at something below the surface, as a really great portrait painter always should do.’© Wyndham Lewis and the estate of the late Mrs G A Wyndham Lewis by kind permission of the Wyndham Lewis Memorial trust (a registered charity)

2010/02 - Norman MacCaig, 1910 - 1996. Poet

National Galleries of Scotland

Norman MacCaig, 1910 - 1996. Poet, Norman MacCaig, Alex Main - about 1996. This portrait of Norman MacCaig (1910 – 1996) by Alex Main, achieves what I believe to be the aim of portraiture: he captures the essence of MacCaig’s character and personality. Main has not made the portrait true to life, but has given us a deeper sense of who MacCaig was by ensuring the sculpture reflects him as a person. MacCaig was one of the foremost Scottish poets of the twentieth century, a contemporary of Hugh McDiarmid and Sorley MacLean. The subject matter of his poems, although they were written in English not Scots, was predominantly rooted in Scotland. Although MacCaig’s poetry has a strong Scottish flavour, its themes are universal. His poems work much like a portrait; they provide us with the character of a place, an emotion, an experience. Through focussing on the particular, he provides us with a lens to the universal.MacCaig’s poems touch lightly upon their subjects, often humorously, with each word a careful layer in the final picture. It is this characteristic in particular which I feel Alex Main has captured in his portrait. The sculpture of MacCaig gives us his outline and his recognisable features which captures the essence of the man and poet with the same lightness and humour MacCaig used in his poetry. In doing so, Main allows us a window by which to see his wider character. In a sense, this parallels the Portrait of a Nation project which aims to capture the spirit of Scotland, its history and its people, and thereby encourage a deeper insight into our own country.© Alex Main

2010/01 - Sarah Biffin, Mrs E.M. Wright, 1784 - 1850. Artist (Self-portrait)

National Galleries of Scotland

Sarah Biffin, Mrs E.M. Wright, 1784 - 1850. Artist (Self-portrait), Sarah Biffin, Mrs E.M. Wright, Sarah Biffin, Mrs E.M. Wright - 1830. This self-portrait miniature is by Sarah Biffen (1784-1850). Sarah, who was born with the condition phocomelia, had no arms or legs, yet she taught herself to paint by holding a brush in her mouth. She eventually became a highly successful artist, having paintings accepted for exhibition at the Royal Academy, and she was referenced in literary works by Thackeray and Dickens. At the age of twelve Sarah’s family were paid to apprentice her to Emmanuel Dukes, a showman who displayed her in fairs and circuses as ‘The Eighth Wonder’. Crowds would pay to watch Sarah paint, write and sew using her mouth, and in 1808 she was spotted by the Earl of Morton who recognised her artistic talent and paid for her to receive painting lessons from William Craig, a Royal Academician who was painter in watercolours to Queen Charlotte and drawing master to Princess Charlotte of Wales. Aged around 29 Sarah left Emmanuel Dukes to become a professional miniaturist, setting up a studio in London. She became immensely popular, painting for three monarchs (George IV, William IV and Queen Victoria) and being awarded a silver medal by the Society of Arts in 1821. In 1824 Sarah married William Stephen Wright, and although the marriage was short-lived she painted and exhibited under her married name. In 1824 she moved to Liverpool, where her paintings eventually went out of fashion. Although she received a small pension form Queen Victoria, her friends and supporters created a subscription for a more generous annuity for her to live off. Sarah died in Liverpool in 1850, aged 66. This remarkable self-portrait reveals something of Sarah’s dignity and strong character, as well as showing the determination and skill of a woman who rose from being a side-show exhibit to a celebrated royal portrait painter.

2009/12 - Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, 1637 - 1671. First wife of James VII and II

National Galleries of Scotland

Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, 1637 - 1671. First wife of James VII and II, Sir Peter Lely, Anne Hyde, Duchess of York - About 1661. Peter Lely’s exquisite depiction of Anne Hyde, commissioned by her father, the Earl of Clarendon, exemplifies how an important patron could use portraiture not just to record a likeness, but to present a sitter in a way in which they wanted to be seen. Anne secretly married the Duke of York (the future James VII and II) in 1660, when she was seven months pregnant. The marriage, once it was made public, was highly unpopular as Anne wasn’t thought to be of a high enough social rank to marry into the Stewart family, and also because her father, who was Charles II’s chancellor, was hated by many influential courtiers. It was vital for Anne to be shown as a worthy addition to the royal family, and having such a grand portrait painted was one method of presenting her in a favourable light. Peter Lely, Charles II’s Principal Painter and the most fashionable artist at the Restoration court, was chosen to paint Anne, who would eventually become one of his greatest patrons. The composition deliberately shows Anne as a virtuous, and therefore suitable, bride, by showing her cooling her hand in a fountain, an action that would have been understood by anyone looking at the portrait as a reference to Proverbs 5:18, “Let thy fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of thy youth”. It was displayed, along with its pair of the duke, in Clarendon’s famous portrait gallery where it would have been seen by a large number of people, and so this message would have reached a large audience. This portrait will be included in one of the inaugural exhibitions, Church and State, when the Portrait Gallery reopens in 2011. The portrait has been chosen for Portrait of the Month to coincide with the display Sir Peter Lely: Artist and Collector currently on show at the National Gallery, which includes several works on paper from the Portrait Gallery collection.

2009/11 - Professor John Brown (Astronomer), b. 1947

National Galleries of Scotland

Professor John Brown (Astronomer), b. 1947, Professor John Brown, Lucinda Douglas-Menzies - 29 April 2008. Professor John Brown (born 1947) is Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Glasgow and the 10th Astronomer Royal for Scotland. His enthusiasm for astronomy began as a child when he was inspired by the books of Patrick Moore and by the encouragement of family and friends. His research and teaching interests include solar and stellar plasmas and the exploration of planetary systems, and he promotes interest in science through his work in astronomy outreach programmes. Brown's thoughtful portrait by Lucinda Douglas-Menzies is one of a set of photographs, ‘Portraits of Astronomers', taken by the artist to mark 2009 as the International Year of the Astronomer, which commemorates four hundred years since Galileo first looked at the sky through a telescope. Douglas-Menzies began her career as a photographer's assistant and later as an auction house catalogue photographer, before setting up her own studio in 1986. Her approach to capturing her sitters' likenesses results in insightful portrayals, often linking the subject with his or her surroundings. Here, Brown is photographed in the University of Glasgow's Department of Physics and Astronomy - in the background of the portrait is an image of a lunar landscape and distant view of earth, which adds a slightly surreal element to the otherwise pensive mood of the portrait. The constellations of the zodiac can be seen in ceiling of the Portrait Gallery's Great Hall and have fascinated and inspired generations of visitors. As part of the Portrait of the Nation campaign, you are invited to place your name, or that of a loved one, in the Gallery of Stars for another generation. With your donation you can choose a star in a panel or constellation. You will receive a limited edition certificate showing the position of your star and your name will be recorded in the Portrait Gallery when it re-opens in 2011. Find information about the campaign at www.nationalgalleries.org/stars.© Lucinda Douglas-Menzies

2009/10 - The Campbell of Glenorchy Family Tree

National Galleries of Scotland

The Campbell of Glenorchy Family Tree, George Jamesone - 1635. Kinship has always been important to Scots. This year in particular, the Year of Homecoming, has seen thousands return to their ancestral land from across the world, underlining the enduring strength of family and clan ties. One of the most spectacular illustrations of the importance of kinship is George Jamesone’s painting of the family tree of Sir Colin Campbell, 8th Laird of Glenorchy (the twelve mile long valley between Bridge of Orchy and Dalmally, in Argyll). Sir Colin commissioned many portraits from the Aberdeen-born artist George Jamesone, the first major figure in the history of Scottish painting. His family tree is dated 1635, and commemorates one of the most successful and powerful families in early modern Scotland. It shows the descendants of Sir Duncan Campbell of Lochawe (died 1453), who is presented lying on the ground at the foot of the tree. Sir Duncan Campbell, married to a granddaughter of King Robert II, was seen as the patriarch of the Campbells of Glenorchy. The seven portraits on the trunk are the first seven lairds of Glenorchy each with his name and the number of years he was laird. The eighth roundel contains the portrait of Sir Colin.The painting was made after two centuries of territorial expansion of the Glenorchy Campbells, a cadet branch of the clan Campbell, who, since Sir Duncan’s time, had extended their influence and control over a large part of the Southern Highlands. Their success was due in good part to their extensive family network which this painting celebrates.Jamesone’s The Campbell of Glenorchy Family Tree is currently on show in the exhibition Homecoming, at the Dick Institute, Kilmarnock until 12 December 2009.James Holloway is one of the regular contributors to HEADS UP our Portrait of the Nation blog which gets behind the scenes of our big transformation.

2009/09 - Three Oncologists (Professor RJ Steele, Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri and Professor Sir David P Lane of the Department of Surgery and Molecular Oncology, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee.

National Galleries of Scotland

Three Oncologists (Professor RJ Steele, Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri and Professor Sir David P Lane of the Department of Surgery and Molecular Oncology, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee., Ken Currie, Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri, Professor Sir David P Lane, Professor R.J. Steele - 2002. At first sight three ghoul-like figures, like nightmarish phantoms, radiate a sinister glow. Or are they the witches of Macbeth gathered around the gaping cauldron? They scowl back at us with exaggerated curiosity. ‘Don't come any further', they seem to say, masks strung loosely around their necks. Notice their surgical gowns and caps and how they hold out their bloodied latex gloves. All three are hunched over with weariness; sleepless days and nights revealed in five o'clock shadows and melancholy, bloodshot eyes. Look again and see how good has been rendered evil ("Fair is foul and foul is fair" Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 1), for what is actually seen here are three courageous, pioneering cancer specialists who emanate light and hope in this gloomy composition. Perhaps it is our own fear seen reflected in their knowing faces that we first recognise. They pass through the black curtains unafraid, while we can only stand and stare, hoping for the safe return of those we love. Behind the curtain lies any one of us. What drives them then, again and again to enter the void? The Scottish artist Ken Currie was commissioned by National Galleries of Scotland to paint this remarkable triple portrait. It will feature in an exhibition of pioneering Scottish scientists when the Portrait Gallery re-opens in 2011. As well as marking the extraordinary contributions scientists make to improve all our lives, the portraits also reveal the role artists play in presenting the breakthroughs and discoveries of such eminent scientists to a wider audience. To find out how Ken Currie created this unusual painting, watch the accompanying film.© Ken Currie

2009/08 - Prince Charles Edward Stuart, 1720 - 1788. Eldest son of Prince James Francis Edward Stuart ('Wanted Poster')

National Galleries of Scotland

Prince Charles Edward Stuart, 1720 - 1788. Eldest son of Prince James Francis Edward Stuart ('Wanted Poster'), Richard Cooper, the Elder, Prince Charles Edward Stuart - 1745. ‘A likeness notwithstanding the Disguise…..’ Richard CooperThis curious print from 1745, although small and intended to be ephemeral, is historically fascinating and highly attractive. It will go on show, alongside many better-known and bigger works, in one of our opening exhibitions for 2011: Imagining Power: the Visual Culture of the Jacobite Cause. The print (which does not explicitly name its subject, referring to him dismissively as ‘the Son of the Pretender’) advertises the massive reward of £30,000 offered by the British government in early August 1745 for the capture of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, who had landed in Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides in late July. Its satirical thrust derives largely from the prince’s balletic pose and elaborate Highland costume or ‘Disguise’. This is the first image to depict the prince clad in tartan. Prior to the momentous events of the ’45 Rising, the prince had only worn Highland dress to parties in Rome, but, once in Scotland, he swiftly realised its symbolic power, capable of instilling a sense of tribal loyalty and romantic attachment to an Italian-born Stuart, who now declared: ‘I am come home’. Equally, as here, it could be used by those opposed to the Jacobite cause to suggest that the Young Pretender should not be taken too seriously (notwithstanding a price on his head equivalent to around £2,500,000 today!). Richard Cooper, who designed and made this work, was born in London but spent his entire career in Edinburgh. It probably dates from before he had actually seen Charles, who made his triumphant entrance to the city, dressed in a tartan short coat, bonnet and cockade, 17 September 1745. We should not necessarily read the image as evidence of personal political hostility. Many artists were highly pragmatic in their acceptance of commissions and some of Cooper’s closest associates were active Jacobites, not least his own apprentice, Robert Strange, who was ‘out’ in the ’45.

2009/07 - The Golfers

National Galleries of Scotland

The Golfers, Charles Lees - 1847. This iconic image portrays a foursome golf match (where teams of two golfers take alternate shots with the same ball) and is set on the world-famous Old Course at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St Andrews. The painting is over one hundred and fifty years old, yet the busy, panoramic scene of people reacting in various ways to the match being played in their midst, will seem familiar to fans of the modern-day game. Similar crowds will be following contemporary golfers such as Colin Montgomerie or defending champion, Padraig Harrington at this month’s Open Championship at Turnberry. The modern game of golf evolved in Scotland, where it remains a hugely popular sport. Lees’ painting will be a key image in ‘Sport in Nineteenth-Century Scotland’, one of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery’s opening displays when it reopens in 2011, which will consider sports such as golf in a wider historical context. Charles Lees studied painting in Edinburgh, where he was taught by Henry Raeburn, and became a Royal Scottish Academician while he was still in his twenties. Although he was predominantly a portrait painter, Lees is now best-known as a painter of sporting scenes and ‘The Golfers’, painted in 1847, is acknowledged as his masterpiece. Lees may have used an early photograph of golfers at St Andrews by David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, taken around 1845, to help compose the dramatic postures of the central characters.

2009/06 - Muriel Gray, b. 1959. Broadcaster

National Galleries of Scotland

Muriel Gray, b. 1959. Broadcaster, Iain Clark, Muriel Gray - 2005. This portrait of Muriel Gray by Iain Clark is revealing in its composition and unusual in its execution. As a prominent contemporary Scottish figure, many of us are no doubt familiar with Gray and her work and we inevitably think of our own associations with her as we view this portrait. With this is mind, Clark instead offers a glimpse at the ‘real’ Muriel Gray in comparison to the animated and vivacious public personality she projects. She appears solitary and serene, reflecting her admitted shyness and discontent with her appearance – what we portray is not always who we are. Clark’s method of working is unusual and perhaps controversial - sitting somewhere between painting and photography. This concept of moving away from ‘traditional’ modes of representation is something the Portrait Gallery aims to nurture - engaging young Scottish artists, encouraging them to produce innovative work in a variety of new media, which develops a wider notion of portraiture for the twenty-first century. Alongside a dedicated gallery, contemporary portraiture will become an integrated force throughout the gallery, encouraging viewers to discover how personal, social and national identities have shifted over time. Watch Muriel Gray and Iain Clark discuss her portrait and the complex relationship between artist and sitter in the attached video.© Iain Clark

2009/05 - James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton, 1702 - 1768, and his family

National Galleries of Scotland

James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton, 1702 - 1768, and his family, Jeremiah Davison, Lady Frances Douglas, Lord James Douglas, Lady Mary Douglas, Lord George Douglas, Agatha Halyburton, Countess of Morton, James Douglas, 13th Earl of Morton, Sholto Charles Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton - 1740. This painting embodies five key themes which will be central to how portraits are seen in the re-opened Scottish National Portrait Gallery: Power, History, Identity, Representation and Memory. Morton, his wife Agatha Halyburton, and their five children, appear like a snapshot of a family contentedly going about their everyday life, but in reality the highly-contrived composition, including the fashionable clothes and the opulent setting, shows us an idealised representation of a family. The earl leans on a large book, signifying his intellectual interests and reminding us of his role in Scottish history, and he wears the sash and star of the Order of the Thistle, indicating his power and status. The countess, shown at the centre of the family, holds a baby. The children are identified in relation to their imagined future lives; the sons play with bows and arrows and the daughters hold dolls and baskets of flowers. Two of the children died before they reached adulthood and so the portrait serves to recall the memory of the family in happier times. Jeremiah Davison painted this grand yet intimate portrait of James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton, and his family, in 1740. The portrait was commissioned by the Earl, who was President of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, one of many such institutions created during the Scottish Enlightenment, and later President of the Royal Society in London.