3 ScotttJJj artists,-^G. Hamilton. July lo, 



go, is scarcely known to his countrymen, unlefs a- 

 jiiong dilettanti and conoifseurs, will be universally 

 known in time throughout all Europe, long after 

 the memory of the person who now introduces him 

 to their notice in these slight fketches fhall be lost 

 in that dark oblivion, which sooner or later awaits 

 all ublunary things. 



Mr Hamilton, who is descended of a respectable 

 family*, originally of Fife now in Lanarkfhire, 

 discovered from his infancy a great predilection for 

 historic painting, and at a very early period of 

 life went to Rome, there to perfect himself in that 

 branch ot the fine arts- On his return to Britain 

 after several years absence, his friends wiihed him to 

 apply himself to portrait painting, and he was over- 

 persuaded to d'j a little in that walk ; but feeling his 

 mind imprefsed with higher ideas of his art than 

 could be thus attained, he abandoned that line, 

 and attached himself entirely to Iketches in histo- 

 ric composition, which gave full scope to the de- 

 velopr meat of those great ideas he had conceived. 



Of his portraits few are to be found in Britain. 

 The best of these that have come to my knowledge 

 are two full lengths of the late duke and duchefs of 

 Hamilton. The portrait of the duke with a gun in 

 his hand, is easy, natural, and pofsefses a degree of 

 excellence not usually attained in things of that 

 nature. The figure of the duchefs with a grey- 

 hound leaping up on her, is well known by the mez- 

 zetinto prints dome from it that are to be seen eve- 

 ry where. To this, as to most of his female fi- 



^= Hamilton of IvLirdieston. 



