Alexander Nasmyth, 
Scottish 1758-1840- 
Portrait of a gentleman, traditionally identified as...

Alexander Nasmyth, 
Scottish 1758-1840- 

Portrait of a gentleman, traditionally identified as George Hay, 7th Marquess of Tweeddale, with his horse and two dogs, in an extensive landscape; 

oil on canvas, 117.5 x 154.2 cm. 

Provenance: 
The Collection of Mrs Hamilton, according to an old label attached to the stretcher bar. 
with Partridge Fine Art, London. 
Property of the late Hugo Morley-Fletcher, MA FSA (1940-2022), (purchased from the above in 1998). 

Note: 
Nasmyth, often described as the 'founder of Scottish landscape painting', began his career as an assistant to the pre-eminent Scottish portraitist Allan Ramsay (1713-1784). After initially depicting individual sitters, from 1780 Nasmyth started to produce group portraits - revealing the influence of conversation pieces by artists such as Johann Zoffany (1733-1810) - including his portrait of the 'Children of William Ramsay of Barton' which sold at Lyon & Turnbull, Edinburgh, on 9 June 2019 (lot 9) for £78,000. The present composition successfully combines the artist's skill as a portraitist with the sweeping, dramatic landscapes for which he was chiefly celebrated, a formula which is also very much evident in other paintings, as in his portrait of Lady Honyman and her Family in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland [PG 2303]. Nasmyth shaped the nature of Scottish painting and was the teacher of a generation of important British artists including David Wilkie (1785-1841), David Roberts (1796-1864), Clarkson Frederick Stanfield (1793-1864), and Andrew Wilson (1780-1848). 

George Hay, 7th Marquess of Tweeddale DL (1753-1804) was a Scottish peer and naval officer. He was a great-grandson of John Hay, 2nd Marquess of Tweeddale and the former Lady Mary Maitland (a daughter of John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale). In 1785, he married Lady Hannah Maitland, a daughter of James Maitland, 7th Earl of Lauderdale and Mary Turner Lombe. Together, George and Hannah were the parents of eleven children. 

We are grateful to Lady Cooksey, author of 'Alexander Nasmyth 1758-1840', for confirming the attribution of the present lot.