William Brassey Hole

Scottish National Portrait Gallery; cartoons for processional frieze (From Mungo Park to James Bruce)

previous next

About this artwork

In the Scottish National Portrait Gallery’s Great Hall, along the first-floor ambulatory runs a processional or pageant frieze that depicts many famous Scots in reverse chronological order. Starting with Thomas Carlyle, it was designed as a ‘visual encyclopedia’ and includes figures such as David Livingstone, James Watt, Robert Burns, Adam Smith, David Hume, the Stuart monarchs, Robert the Bruce and Saint Ninian. This cartoon shows the section which runs from the explorer, Mungo Park (1771 – 1806), to fellow traveller, James Bruce (1730 - 1794). The artist, William Hole, also painted a series of large-scale murals depicting scenes from Scottish history on the first floor.

Updated before 2020

Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? Tell us what you think.

William Brassey Hole

William Brassey Hole