Key People
Allan Ramsay (1713-1784)
Allan Ramsay of Kinkell, the painter, and son of the poet and bookseller Allan Ramsay (1684-1758), was born in Edinburgh. He worked in Edinburgh and trained in Italy and London, where he established himself in 1738.
Allan Ramsay became the leading British portrait painter of the mid-18th century. Among many others he painted David Hume and King George III.
Ramsay initiated the Select Society, and became a founding member along with David Hume, Adam Smith, Lord Monboddo and others.
Image: ‘Allan Ramsay, 1713-1784’. Artist (Self-portrait) about 1756. By courtesy of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
