A Patriotic Waistcoat

This well-expressed character study shows a discerning older gentleman wearing a blue high-collared frock coat with deep lapels over a brightly patterned double-breasted waistcoat with lapels. Vertically striped waistcoats were popular during the 1780s though it’s unlikely, given the age of this gentleman, that he would have been in the forefront of that fashion. It seems more plausible for him to be wearing a waistcoat in a style from the previous decade, thereby placing this portrait in the 1790s.

The portrait is in fine condition and is set in the original gold fausse montre frame with a bright-cut edge and a striking border of finely plaited blonde hair secured at the base with a little gold buckle.

During the 1790s, Alexander Gallaway was working in partnership with a Mr Williams, a landscape artist, from a studio in Glasgow. During the early 1800s Gallaway moved east to Edinburgh where he would have hoped to attract a wider clientele. He exhibited at the Society of Artists in Edinburgh.