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Alexander Nasmyth was a Scottish portrait and landscape painter, often called the “father of Scottish landscape painting”. Born in Edinburgh, he studied at the Trustees’ Academy under Alexander Runciman and, having been apprenticed as a heraldic painter to a coachbuilder, he, at the age of sixteen, attracted the attention of Allan Ramsay, who took the youth with him to London and employed him upon the subordinate portions of his works. Nasmyth returned to Edinburgh in 1778 and was soon largely patronized as a portrait painter. He also assisted Mr. Miller of Dalswinton as draughtsman in his mechanical researches and experiments. Mr. Miller later offered the painter a loan to enable him to pursue his studies abroad, and Nasmuth left for Italy in 1782, where he remained for two years.

Upon his return, he painted the excellent portrait of Robert Burns, now in the Scottish National Gallery, well-known through Walker’s engraving. Political feeling at that time ran high in Edinburgh, and Nasmyth’s pronounced liberal opinions, which he was too outspoken and sincere to disguise, gave offense to many of his aristocratic patrons. This led to the diminution of his practice as a portraitist. In his later years, accordingly, he devoted himself mainly to landscape work and did not disdain on occasion to set his hand to scene painting for the theatres. His subjects are carefully finished and coloured but are wanting in boldness and freedom.

Nasmyth was also largely employed by noblemen throughout the country in the improving and beautifying of their estates, in which his fine taste rendered him especially skillful; and he was known as an architect, having designed the Dean Bridge in Edinburgh, and the graceful circular temple covering St Bernard’s Well. Nasmyth died in his native city.

His youngest son, James Nasmyth, was the well-known inventor of the steam hammer and his six daughters all attained a certain local reputation as artists; however, it was in his eldest son, Patrick Nasmyth, that the artistic skill of his family was most powerfully developed. Having studied under his father, Patrick went to London at the age of twenty and soon attracted attention as a clever landscapist. He was a diligent student of the works of Claude and Richard Wilson, Ruysdael, and Hobbema, upon whom his own practice was mainly founded. His most characteristic paintings are of English domestic scenes, which are full of quiet tone and colour, detailed and minute expressions of foliage, and considerable brilliancy of sky effect. They were executed with his left hand, his right having in early life been injured by an accident.

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