James Craig was the architect who won the competition to design Edinburgh’s famed neo-classical New Town. This portrait by Craig’s contemporary, David Allan, shows him with his prize-winning design. Next to the dog at his feet lies another early commission, the hall of the Royal College of Physicians in George Street, Edinburgh. The statue of Victory on the left symbolises his success, and the scene in the background brings to mind the waterfall described in the poem Summer, by Craig’s uncle, the celebrated poet and playwright James Thomson (1700–1748). Together, they suggest that the architect is now entering the peak of his career.