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David Martin
1737 (Anstruther) - 1797 (Edinburgh)
Susan Wardlaw (née Steedman) 1756-1803 wife of David Wardlaw of Netherbeath, Fife
1788
Oil on canvas in its original carved and gilded frame
30 x 25 ins, 72.6 x 63.5 cms
Signed centre left “Martin P.W.P. pinxit 1788” (the initials indicating that he was principal painter to the Prince of Wales for Scotland)
About the Sitter
Susan was the daughter of Dr. John Steedman, an Edinburgh physician. In 1767 she married David Wardlaw (1747-1790) of Netherbeath, Fife who was a merchant in Dunfermline. They had two daughters.
About the Artist
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.
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.
Provenance
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.