About this artwork
The advocate and writer Henry Erskine had one of the most brilliant legal minds of his day. He became Lord Advocate in 1783 and Dean of the Faculty of Advocates in 1785. He was in favour of constitutional reform and opposed the 'sedition' and 'treason' bills introduced by the government in 1795. This unusual high-relief portrait was made after Erskine's death. The youthful, sensitive face, with the lips just parted to reveal the sitter's teeth, is full of animation and brings to mind a comment made by one of Erskine's contempories: 'Nothing was so sour as not to be sweetened by the glance, the voice, the gaiety, the beauty of Henry Erskine'.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Mary Grant (1831 - 1908) Scottish
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title:Henry Erskine, 1746 - 1817. Lord Advocate
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date created:1877
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materials:Marble relief
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measurements:74.70 cm (height)
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object type:
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credit line:Presented by the Earl of Buchan 1952
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accession number:PG 1582
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gallery:
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subject:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Mary Grant
Mary Grant
Mary Grant was the daughter of a Scottish laird and the niece of Sir Francis Grant, artist and President of the Royal Academy. Born in Kilgraston, Perthshire, she studied sculpture in Florence, Rome and Paris and worked in Scotland before setting up a studio in London in 1868. She specialised in...