Allan Ramsay: Portraits of the Enlightenment
13 September 2013 - 5 January 2014
Hunterian Art Gallery
Admission charge - £6.50 / £4.50 concession*
This exhibition marks 300 years since the birth of Allan Ramsay (1713 - 1784), whose elegant style set him apart from other portraitists of the time. Born in Edinburgh, his career took him from a small Scottish clientele to the Hanoverian court of King George III. Away from his studio, Ramsay was in close contact with a number of influential figures, and his published writing includes works on taste, politics and archaeology. The exhibition centres on a selection of portraits from across Ramsay’s 30 years as a painter and also features drawings, watercolours, books, pamphlets, and other materials which demonstrate Ramsay’s fascinating place in the intellectual and cultural life of Edinburgh, London, Paris and Rome in the mid 18th century.
The exhibition includes key loans from UK public and private collections and new research examining the intellectual context in which Ramsay painted a number of his most important portraits, including that of Hunterian founder Dr William Hunter.
*Admission to Allan Ramsay: Portraits of the Enlightenment will be free on Saturday 28, Sunday 29, Monday 30 and Tuesday 31 December 2013. The exhibtion will be open from 11.00am - 4.00pm on these days. On Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 December, exhibition curator and Deputy Director of The Hunterian, Mungo Campbell, will give free hourly tours of the exhibition, giving special insight into Ramsay and his work.
To coincide with this exhibition, the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh is showcasing a selection of works from its unrivalled holding of drawings by Allan Ramsay, Allan Ramsay at 300 (19 October 2013 - 9 February 2014).
Image: Flora MacDonald by Allan Ramsay © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford.