About this artwork

This scene shows a group of friends celebrating the birthday of James Hogg, the writer nicknamed 'the Ettrick Shepherd'. The gathering includes the artistic and literary elite of Scottish society. John Wilson (Christopher North), the author and moral philosoher, raises a toast to Hogg, who is swaying back on his chair at the left of the group. Next to Hogg, leaning on the table, is Sir Walter Scott. The setting is Hogg's house at Eltrive, and includes some beautifully observed details of a domestic interior in the early nineteenth century.

Updated before 2020

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Sir William Allan

Sir William Allan