George Washington Wilson

Artist Sir George Reid (Aberdeen, Scotland, 1841 - 1913)

SitterSitter is George Washington Wilson (Alvah, Banffshire, Scotland, 1823 - 1893)

Date1879

Mediumoil on canvas

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall: Height: 75.8 cm, Width: 58 cm
Frame: Height: 107.4 cm, Width: 89.7 cm

AcquisitionPresented in 1938 by Miss Laura Wilson.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG003974

Keywords

About MeGeorge Washington Wilson studied art in Edinburgh, London and Paris and some of his early paintings are in teh collections. He first worked as a painter of portrait miniatures but soon learned about the recently invented calotype photographic process. In 1852 he set up a portrait photography studio in Aberdeen, which became hugely successful. His portable darkroom also allowed him to take landscape photographs around the country and overseas. By the 1880s, his firm was one of the largest and most famous photographic publishers in the world.

There is an oil sketch for this painting in our collections and another with the Scottish National Portrait Gallery:
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/38153?initial=R&artistId=4410&artistName=Sir%20George%20Reid&submit=1
More About Me

Collections Wall

Reid and Washington Wilson were both born in Aberdeen, both trained for a time in Edinburgh and began as portrait painters. GWW moved on to become a renowned photographer.