Sir George Skene of Wester Fintray and Rubislaw, Provost of Aberdeen (1676-85)

AttributedAttributed to Sir John Baptist Medina (Brussels, Belgium, c.1659 - 1710)

Associated Sir George Skene (Aberdeenshire, Scotland, 1619 - 1707)

Datec.1681

Mediumoil on canvas (oval)

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall: Height: 76.5 cm, Width: 63.9 cm
Frame: Height: 89.8 cm, Width: 75.8 cm

AcquisitionPurchased in 1975.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationOn Display - Provost Skene's House

Object numberABDCC001018

Keywords

Provostal

About MeGeorge Skene was born in 1619. He was apprenticed to George Eadie, a merchant trading with Danzig, and through this work amassed a large fortune with which he was able to purchase Wester Fintray in 1666 and in 1687 the estate of Rubislaw.

He bought Provost Skene's House in Aberdeen as his town residence at the age of 50 in 1669 and lived there for 25 years. He carried out extensive work to the building adding an additional floor, new staircases and larger windows. His coat-of-arms was displayed throughout the building including on the plaster ceilings which survive in some of the rooms.

George Skene was Provost of Aberdeen from 1676-85. Whilst attending Parliament in 1681 Skene was knighted by the Duke of York, then acting as Commissioner to the Scottish Parliament and this portrait shows him on the occasion of his knighthood. In 1685 Skene was chosen by the Council to represent an address of congratulation to the King on his accession to throne as James II.

George Skene died, aged eighty eight, on 9 April 1707.

Sir John Baptist Medina was an artist of Flemish-Spanish origin who came to London in 1686. Even in London he seems to have specialised in Scottish sitters, and in either 1688–89 or 1694 he moved to Edinburgh, where he remained for the rest of his life. Medina was the most prominent Scottish portraitist for the rest of his life, charging £5 for a head and £10 for a half-length.

Exhibitions

Provost Skene's House