Art lovers can come face-to-face with inventor James Watt through the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland.
You can view online images from the NGS collection here.
We asked Helen Smailes, Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), at NGS to pick out some of her highlights.
She started by talking about a marble bust of Watt by Sir Francis Chantrey, which is on display in the entrance hall of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh’s Queen Street.
This bust dates from around 1815 and was used by Chantrey as the basis of much larger statues. (Several of these were made – with one currently on loan to the National Museum of Scotland in the city’s Chambers Street.)
THE PAINTING
(The Beechey original, initially retained by the artist, was shown at the Royal Academy in London in 1802, just under two years after Watt retired formally from participation in the partnership with Boulton.
The Partridge copy is said to have been given by Watt’s son to his father’s medical attendant during the final illness of the great engineer – so it is particularly special.
THE DRAWING
Helen went on to pick out her third choice – a large chalk drawing in profile by the Paisley modeller John Henning, created in 1809.
It was commissioned by the Scots judge and litterateur Francis, Lord Jeffrey (who also penned the 1819 obituary of Watt for the newly-founded Scotsman newspaper). A version of this drawing was used by Henning as the basis of cameos.
THE MASTERPIECE
Her last choice was an imposing painting by James Eckford Lauder.
Entitled “James Watt and the Steam Engine: the Dawn of the Nineteenth Century (1855)” – this huge oil painting is the ultimate incarnation of the kettle legend surrounding James Watt. According to Helen it is “strongly reminiscent” of Joseph Wright of Derby’s celebrations of 18th century technical and scientific innovations (the best known are “A Philosopher Giving That Lecture on the Orrery in Which a Lamp Is Put in Place of the Sun” (Derby Art Gallery) and “An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump” (National Gallery, London).