Sir Walter Scott

Sir John Watson Gordon 1788 - 1864

Summary

A bust length frontal portrait of Sir Walter Scott Bart; an elderly pale-haired gentleman in dark coat, yellow waistcoat and dark tie, with his hands leaning on the top of a walking stick. He looks earnestly out at the viewer while he sits against a dark plain background.

Display Label

Sir Walter Scott after 1830 John Watson Gordon 1788 -1864 Oil on canvas Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) created the Victorian vision of Highland Scotland through his romantic poems and novels. This led to a century-long Scottish tourism boom. Travellers quoted his words or imagined themselves as his characters as they visited the historic sites that he had made famous. The nerveless appearance of the writer’s hands resting on his walking stick indicate the state of his health after 1830. Afflicted with crippling debt due to the failure of his business partner’s publishing venture, Scott followed a punishing work schedule to pay off his creditors. The only sitting he gave to Watson Gordon for his portrait was about three weeks after his first paralytic stroke. He is shown here as noble and courageous, yet afflicted. 1903.1