Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots
John Kay British, Scottish
Sitter Mary, Queen of Scots Scottish
Not on view
Kay sometimes made etchings of important historical figures, as well as portraying his Edinburgh contemporaries. Here he based a half-length image of Scotland's most famous queen on an engraving by George Vertue, the latter in turn relying on a sixteenth-century painting by Nicholas Hillard. Mary Stuart is shown half-length within an oval, wearing a dark gown with a ruff, gauzy cape, gable headdress, and a cross hanging at her front. The print was used to illustrate a later edition of William Robertson's "The History of Scotland during the reign of Queen Mary and King James VI till his accession to the Crown of England" (first published 1759); see 58.549.166 for another impression and 58.549.167 for a variant.