Allan Ramsay

1 portrait

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Allan Ramsay

by Allan Ramsay
oil on canvas, circa 1737-1739
24 in. x 18 1/4 in. (610 mm x 464 mm) oval
Purchased, 1946
Primary Collection
NPG 3311

On display in Room 9 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery

Sitterback to top

  • Allan Ramsay (1713-1784), Portrait painter. Sitter in 3 portraits, Artist or producer associated with 120 portraits.

Artistback to top

  • Allan Ramsay (1713-1784), Portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 120 portraits, Sitter in 3 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Probably painted in Italy where Ramsey completed his training, this very early self-portrait shows his indebtedness to the vigour of the Italian baroque. More detailed information on this portrait is available in a National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue, John Kerslake's Early Georgian Portraits (1977, out of print).

Linked publicationsback to top

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  • Kerslake, John, Early Georgian Portraits, 1977, p. 226
  • Rogers, Malcolm, Master Drawings from the National Portrait Gallery, 1993 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 5 August to 23 October 1994), p. 56
  • Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 511
  • Smart, Alastair, Allan Ramsay, 1713-1784, 1992 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from Catalogue of exhibition held at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, 1 Aug. - 27 Sept. 1992; and the National Portrait Gallery, London, from 16 Oct. 1992 - 17 Jan. 1993.), p. 47

Placesback to top

  • Place made: Italy (probably Italy)

Events of 1737back to top

Current affairs

Death of Queen Caroline, wife of George II, on 20 November.
Frederick, Prince of Wales quarrels with his father. The king expels him from court for criticising the government.
Theatrical Licensing Act introduces censorship, requiring plays to be submitted to the Lord Chancellor for approval and reducing the number of theatres.

Art and science

French portrait-painter Jean-Baptiste Van Loo arrives in England where he soon attracts prominent sitters such as Robert Walpole, Colley Cibber and William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield.
Venus passes in front of Mercury and is witnessed by amateur astronomer John Bevis at the Royal Greenwich Observatory. It remains the only such planetary occlusion that has been directly observed.

International

Colonist William Byrd founds Richmond, Virginia.
French Académie Royale de Peintre et de Sculpture begins its programme of public exhibitions.
Florence loses her independence when the last Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany dies.


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Mr.E.P.Daly

29 September 2017, 13:40

Allan Ramsay of Kinkell was the uncle of Dido Elizabeth Belle. Her aunt was Margaret Ramsay (born Lindsay, elder sister of Sir John Lindsay KB, Prince of Arcot. Ramsay eloped with Margaret and married in the early 1750's having 3 children: Amelia, Charlotte and John. They would have been regular visitors to Caen Wood House in Hampstead where Dido spent many years with the Mansfields. It is my very strong suspicion that the painting of the girls in 1779 (Dido & Elizabeth Mary Murray) is so painted by Allan Ramsay. That painting now hangs at Scone Palace in Perth, Scotland. And it is rare because it is the only recorded painting of Dido in existence. Sir John often referred to Allan Ramsay
as his brother - they were quite close - even getting sculptures made of themselves whilst in Italy in 1775 by Michael Foye.