Adam Smith, Author of "The Wealth of Nations"
The economist Adam Smith was an active contributor to Edinburgh's intellectual life during the Scottish Englightenment period and died the year that Kay made this print. We see the writer and philosopher standing in a library with a chequered floor, folio volumes in a bookcase, and a round table supported by slim tapered legs. Smith points to a book lying on the table near a letter, inkpot, quill and other volumes. He wears a long coat, queue wig, tricorn, buckled shoes and holds a cane, as though just arrived from outdoors. While the sizable room and sitter's wardrobe convey professional solidity, also suggest a certain breadth of mind.
Artwork Details
- Title: Adam Smith, Author of "The Wealth of Nations"
- Artist: John Kay (British, Dalkeith, Scotland 1742–1826 Edinburgh)
- Sitter: Adam Smith (British, Kirkcaldy, Scotland 1723–1790 Edinburgh)
- Date: 1790
- Medium: Etching
- Dimensions: sheet: 5 1/2 x 3 11/16 in. (14 x 9.3 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
- Object Number: 17.3.756–1324
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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