About this artwork

This painting of a lowland roadside scene does not represent an actual place or occurrence. The figures appear in a pen and ink drawing with a background of sea and sailing boats, which is permanently on loan to the National Gallery of Scotland from the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA 249). This painting not only shows Geikie’s powers of invention, as he has imagined those figures in new surroundings and with colourful clothing, but it also displays his great ability to capture the nuances of gesture and expression. The figures in this scene exhibit a variety of emotions and activities, from the thoughtful elderly man sitting on the rock, to the attentive young man near him, and the cheerful woman in the wagon.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
    Walter Geikie (1795 - 1837) Scottish
  • title:
    A Scottish Roadside Scene
  • date created:
    About 1830
  • materials:
    Oil on canvas
  • measurements:
    40.60 x 61.00 cm; Framed: 59.50 x 79.20 x 8.40 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Presented by Harold S Geikie 1935
  • accession number:
    NG 1825
  • gallery:
  • subject:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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Walter Geikie

Walter Geikie