About this artwork

A critical and commercial failure during his short life, David Scott was championed by his younger brother William and a small circle of Edinburgh painters who considered him a genius. His vast historical canvases are now considered to be somewhere between inspirational and incompetent. This is one of a series of portraits which Lauder made of his friends. Scott's intense gaze is directed to a vision hidden from the viewer. The sombre darkness of the clothes and background is relieved only by the bright, paint-smeared cloth in the artist's hand.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
  • title:
    David Scott, 1806 - 1849. Artist
  • date created:
    1839
  • materials:
    Oil on canvas
  • measurements:
    68.60 x 52.10 cm; Framed: 96.90 x 80.20 x 9.80 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Purchased 1954
  • accession number:
    PG 1608
  • gallery:
  • depicted:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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Robert Scott Lauder

Robert Scott Lauder