Scottish Blog

1713-1784

Allan Ramsay was famous Scottish painter during the time of the Scottish Enlightenment.

Allan Ramsay was born on the 15th of October of 1713, in Edinburgh. His father, also named Allan Ramsay, was a poet and the author of “The Good Shepherd”. This allowed Allan Ramsay a certain degree of freedom in the choice of his career and educational path, as he was by no means constricted by finances.

Allan Ramsay began his education as a portrait painter at the age of twenty, under the instruction of Hans Huyssing, in London. He studied for three years at the St Martin’s Lane Academy. Upon completion, Allan Ramsay travelled to Naples and Rome, where he worked with a number of superior artists.

Allan Ramsay returned to Edinburgh in 1738. He completed a portrait of the Duke of Argyll, which earned him much respect, the art was later featured on the banknotes of the Royal Bank of Scotland. He then moved to London and gained employment with the Duke of Bridgewater. He married in 1739, although his wife died in 1743. He re-married in 1752, to one of his pupils.

Until 1770, Allan Ramsay traveled throughout Italy with his wife. They spent time in not only artistic pursuits but also literary and antiquarian activities. In 1770, Allan Ramsay gave up painting altogether, partially because of continuing pain from an accident which left his shoulder dislocated. He completed only one painting past this point, as he had already been begun. The painting as of the King.

Throughout his career, Allan Ramsay completed a large number of portraits. Most celebrated amongst these were those from his early years. Dominantly, the most talked about are the full length portraits of the Duke of Argyll and that of the Lady of Coke.

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