Unknown man, formerly known as Sir Walter Scott, 1st Bt

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Inscribed: Walter Scott./March 1821.

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Percy Fitzgerald FSA and given by him in 1912 as Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) in the uniform of the Edinburgh Volunteers. It appears in the NPG catalogues as Scott by Landseer until the 1949 edition where it is classified as 'identity doubtful' and only attributed to Landseer. The sitter's long head bears no resemblance to the accepted portraits of Scott and the handwriting appears to be neither Scott's nor Landseer's. Landseer is not known to have met Sir Walter until 1824 and if it is from his hand, it is Landseer far from his best.


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.

View all known portraits for Sir Edwin Henry Landseer

View all known portraits for Sir Walter Scott, 1st Bt