10 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 



himself at Kelso, which continued to be his home till 

 he was far advanced in years and sunken in bodily 

 infirmity. There his lot was a pleasant one ; for he 

 was liberally patronised by the neighbouring county 

 families and others, whose portraits he painted, and 

 in whose houses he was a welcome guest. A bachelor 

 much in request at dinner parties, he united with manners 

 of an old-school courtliness a gift for anecdote and 

 character drawing which was scarcely less remaikable 

 than his more essential gift of catching likenesses with 

 the pencil. He could be pungent, too, if he chose ; and 

 to do him justice, he did choose. But perhaps this life 

 was somewhat too easy and agreeable to be favourable 

 to artistic development, and the consequence was that 

 he fell into that pit-fall of the artist who is less than 

 strenuous : he could not satisfy himself with his own 

 work. And so he would sometimes keep a picture for 

 years in his studio, botching at without improving 

 it. Then — whether owing to incipient failure of the 

 visual organs (which in the end were grievously affected) 

 or to lack of any vital artistic sympathy or stimulus* 

 in the world in which he lived — his powers began 

 early to deteriorate. I have seen portraits and sketches 

 of his which were in one word living ; and therefore 

 as art-work beautiful. One of these was a family group, 

 representing an old blind man being read to by a young 

 man. The models were an uncle and a brother of his 

 own, and on this picture he had manifestly spared no 

 pains. Another good example of his work was the strong 

 characteristic portrait of an old Tweedside fisherman, 

 Robert Kerss, alias Rob o' the Trows ; others were 

 ])ortraits of Lord Marjoribanks of Ladykirk, and of Robert 

 Elliott, Esq., of Clifton Park. But for the most part I 

 fear that Frain's sitters were indifferent to artistic quality 

 in his work, and he ended by turning out wooden 

 and staring likenesses in mere complaisant supply of a 

 demand, (Either his cht^racter or his genius was not 



