David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson

Sergeant and Private of the 92nd Gordon Highlanders in Edinburgh Castle. Known as 'The Porthole' [Military 1]

About this artwork

Having returned from the West Indies in July 1845, the 92nd Gordon Highlanders were stationed at Edinburgh Castle until their move to Ireland April 1846, and later the Ionian Islands and Gibraltar. Whilst Hill was making studies for his painting ‘Edinburgh Old and New’, which looks down over the Castle barracks, he took a series of photographs of the soldiers. In this image the Private stands to attention, in a formal and rigid pose, in comparison to the Sergeant who adopts a much more relaxed stance, casually leaning against the canon. This reflects the difference in rank between the two soldiers, with the Sergeant senior to the Private.

Updated before 2020

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David Octavius Hill

David Octavius Hill