Mrs. Susan Wardlaw by David Martin 1788

David Martin 1737 (Anstruther) - 1797 (Edinburgh).

Susan Wardlaw (née Steedman) 1756-1803 wife of John Wardlaw of Netherbeath, Fife.

Signed centre left “Martin P.W.P. pinxit 1788” (the initials indicating that he was principal painter to the Prince of Wales for Scotland).

In its original carved and gilded frame.

This portrait was painted in Edinburgh when David Martin was aged 51 and very highly respected.  His work has an intimacy and simplicity which characterises the Enlightenment period in the Scottish capital.  Happily, it retains its original frame.

Susan was the daughter of Dr. John Steedman, an Edinburgh physician.  In 1767 she married John Wardlaw (died 1790) of Netherbeath, Fife who was a merchant in Dunfermline.  They had two daughters. 

David Martin studied under Allan Ramsay whom he accompanied to Rome in 1756-57 before working under his supervision at the St. Martin’s Lane Academy.  He was the principal draftsman in Ramsay’s studio in the 1760s.  By 1770 he had established his own studio in London and in July 1771 he married Ann Hill (1743–1775). Following her death, probably about 1778, Martin settled in Edinburgh where in 1778 he was admitted to the Royal Company of Archers.  In 1785 he was appointed principal painter to the Prince of Wales in Scotland.

Exhibited:

1937 loan exhibition of the Scottish Fine Art and Print Club, at the Royal Scottish Academy Galleries.

Loaned by Mrs. Wilkinson, 15 Merchiston Terrace, New Town, Edinburgh.

Dimensions

Price on application

This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance