Sir David Baird, 1st Bt

This portraitback to top

Wilkie's enormous canvas, 'Sir David Baird discovering the body of Tipoo Sahib' was commissioned by Lady Baird to commemorate the storming of Seringapatam in 1799. It was exhibited RA 1839 (65) with a long extract from Theodore Hook's Biography of Baird and is now on loan to Edinburgh Castle; a large mezzotint by John Burnet was published in 1843. The central figure of Baird (in reverse) stems from Raeburn's whole-length with horse at Lennoxlove, NPG 1825 being almost a direct copy of the head, possibly made from the mezzotint by T. Hodgetts. Various studies for the whole composition and of the central figure were in the Wilkie Exhibition, RA 1958 (lent by the Ashmolean Museum (3), Fitzwilliam Museum, Royal Scottish Academy, Courtauld Institute), and others are in the British Museum, V & A Museum and private collections; an oil sketch of the head wearing a plumed hat is in the Scottish NPG; a watercolour drawing signed and dated 1834 was exhibited 'British Portraits' RA 1956-7 (680) lent by the Right Hon Joseph Grimond MP. Raeburn's whole-length was exhibited RA 1814 (247) and Wilkie probably began assembling material for his composition in the early 1830s. In a letter to Lady Baird, 29 December 1834, he mentions a separate sketch of Baird, 'chiefly from the drawing made in Dublin' (Allan Cunningham, Life of David Wilkie, 1843, III p 92).

Physical descriptionback to top

Grey hair, piercing blue eyes, fresh complexion; shoulders and below roughed out in pencil.

Provenanceback to top

The artist then Christie's (Wilkie sale) 20-21 June 1860 (?122); Earl of Camperdown; Knight Frank and Rutley (Camperdown sale at 39 Charles Street, Berkeley Square) 18 September 1918 (68), bought by Leggatt for the NPG.


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Walker, Regency Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, 1985, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.

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