Beautiful ink drawing of Scottish National Portrait Gallery; exterior view by Thomas Crawford Hamilton art print (28 x 35.5 cm)
Thomas Crawford made this drawing of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery a year after its public opening in 1889. The artist suggests the scale of the building in relation to the minute figures of several passers-by. The construction of the gallery became possible when John Ritchie Findlay, then owner of The Scotsman newspaper, donated £50,000 to the project.
This ink drawing is one of two views of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery by Thomas Crawford Hamilton. They were made in 1890, the year after the gallery was opened to the public. The construction of a purpose-built portrait gallery was made possible after the owner of ‘The Scotsman’ newspaper, John Ritchie Findlay, donated money to the project. The result was a magnificent neo-gothic building that – both on the inside and outside – celebrates famous Scots and Scottish achievement.
