Allan Ramsay 1713-1784
Portrait artist and essayist Allan Ramsay was born at Edinburgh, son of the poet of the same name. He studied in Edinburgh, London and Rome, where he was influenced by the Italian baroque. He was also familiar with French contemporary portraiture. Settling in London upon his return from Italy in 1738 Ramsay started to make his name. Considerable success led to his employing the fabric painter, Joseph van Aken, to enable him to fulfill the number of commissions he was receiving.
During this time Ramsay was also travelling to Scotland to paint portraits and he and his second wife moved to Edinburgh in 1754. After a further sojourn in Italy, the Ramsays were back in London in 1757, where he enjoyed royal patronage for the rest of his life, becoming official painter to HRH King George III. An arm injury sustained in 1773 ended Ramsay's career; further visits to Italy were made for remedial purposes and pursuit of intellectual interests. He died at Dover on his return to England in 1784.
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Twenty Twenty One
30 Sep - 13 Nov 2021 EdinburghThe Fine Art Society presents an exhibition of work by Scottish artists, including: Allan Ramsay, Sir Henry Raeburn, John Knox, Sir David Wilkie, Patrick Nasmyth, David Roberts, Alexander Johnston, Sam...Read more -
Hang 1 //
Early Scottish painting from the 17th & 18th centuries 13 Jan - 8 Feb 2020 EdinburghRead more -
Signatures Of Scottish Art
140 Years of the Fine Art Society 10 Jun - 9 Jul 2016 EdinburghExhibited during the year that The Fine Art Society celebrated its 140th anniversary, the occasion was marked in our Edinburgh gallery with the exhibition Signatures of Scottish Art. The show...Read more -
Scottishness in Art
1750-1980 5 Jul - 7 Sep 2013 EdinburghThe eighteenth century saw Scotland take a giant step forward. It opened trade with English colonies and saw Scotland rise culturally, socially and economically. It was against this backdrop that...Read more -
Twelve Scottish Paintings
22 Jun - 21 Jul 2012 EdinburghTwelve paintings by Scottish artists spanning three centuries of art history. With work by Allan Ramsay, Jacob More, Sir David Wilkie, Alexander Fraser Snr, Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, Sam Bough,...Read more -
Five Centuries of Scottish Portraiture
30 Jul - 3 Sep 2011 EdinburghPortraits are windows into the period in which in they were painted – not merely because they demonstrate the painting techniques of the time, the fashions of art or of...Read more
