born March 4, 1756, Stockbridge, Scot.
died July 8, 1823, Edinburgh
Scottish portrait painter.
Though apprenticed early to a goldsmith, he lacked formal training as a painter. He worked principally as a miniaturist and evolved a distinctive style of oil portraiture, painting directly on the canvas without preliminary drawings. His portraits are characterized by a vigorous handling of paint and vivid and experimental lighting effects, usually from behind the sitters' heads. He was elected president of the Edinburgh Society of Artists (1812) and Royal Academician (1815), knighted in 1822, and appointed His Majesty's Limner for Scotland (1822).