About this artwork
John Kay created quaint etched portraits of prosperous members of Georgian Edinburgh. Kay’s caricature portrait of Abercromby is a more light-hearted take on portraiture. This etching encapsulates the popular image of the General holding his eyeglass, which he used because of his short sight. In the distance are the tents of the camp. Kay has also included some rather Toblerone-like Pyramids in order to represent Alexandria in Egypt. The defeat of the French by the British at the Battle of Alexandria was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. Abercromby’s death while commanding this battle was described in Kay’s Volume as a "national calamity".
Updated before 2020
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artist:
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title:Sir Ralph Abercromby, 1734 - 1801. General
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date created:1801 - 1826
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after:
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materials:Etching on paper
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measurements:14.93 x 10.49 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Bequeathed by William Finlay Watson 1886
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accession number:SP IV 1.10
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gallery:
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depicted:
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subject:
John Kay
John Kay
John Kay was a portrait etcher and miniature painter who was born near Dalkeith. Self-taught, he originally started working as a barber in Edinburgh but devoted his spare time to art. In 1785 he left the barber’s trade for caricature portraiture. He made nearly 900 plates of almost every notable...