1785-1841 British Sir David Wilkie Galleries Wilkie may have inherited his rectitude and tenacity, even his nervous inhibitions, from his father, the minister of his native parish. Though little responsive to schooling, he showed an early inclination towards mimicry that expressed itself in drawings, chiefly of human activity. In these he was influenced by a copy of Allan Ramsay pastoral comedy in verse, the Gentle Shepherd (1725), illustrated by David Allan in 1788. One of the few surviving examples of his early drawings represents a scene from it (c. 1797; Kirkcaldy, Fife, Mus. A.G.). Wilkie cherished the demotic spirit of this book and its illustrations throughout his life.
Sir David Wilkie flattering portrait of the kilted King George IV for the Visit of King George IV to Scotland, with lighting chosen to tone down the b
Sir David Wilkie's flattering portrait of the kilted King George IV for the Visit of King George IV to Scotland, with lighting chosen to tone down the brightness of his kilt and his knees shown bare, without the pink tights he wore at the event.