ATTRIBUTED TO SIR JOHN WATSON GORDON FULL LENGTH PORTRAIT OF A HIGHLAND CHIEFTAIN SIR FRANCIS

ATTRIBUTED TO SIR JOHN WATSON GORDON FULL LENGTH PORTRAIT OF A HIGHLAND CHIEFTAIN SIR FRANCIS GRANT IN FULL HIGHLAND DRESS oil on canvas 215cm x 120cm (84.5in x 47.5in) Note: This impressive portrait of the painter Sir Francis Grant (1803-1878), resplendently dressed in full Highland regalia as an Esquire to the Knight Marischal, evokes all the Scottish national pride and romanticism of the early 19th century. Last exhibited by the R.S.A. in 1824, and the subject only recently identified, this dynamic portrait of the dashing young artist swathed in metres of red tartan, is representative of a group of portraits meant to convey an unequivocable Scottish identity. Beginning with the publication of Sir Walter Scott's novel Waverley in 1814, there was renewed interest in the history, culture and traditional dress of Scotland, and it was with Scott's influence that George IV's visit to Edinburgh was organised in 1822, the year this portrait was painted. The royal visit, the first for a British monarch since 1650, was marked with a series of high profile events, processions and pageants, all to celebrate the Scottish national identity and reinforce the King's ties to Scotland and improve his popularity after his accension to the throne the year before. Sir John Watson Gordon (1788 - 1864) succeeded Sir Henry Raeburn as the pre-eminent Scottish portrait painter of the first half of the 19th century. He painted many famous Scottish individuals including Sir Walter Scott and James Andrew Ramsay, 10th Earl and 1st Marquess of Dalhousie. Watson Gordon and Grant exhibited at the Royal Academy throughout the nineteenth century with the former elected President in 1850 and Grant in 1866.