Alexander Runciman 1736-1785 Scottish School 18th.Century. Red Chalk Drawing. Classical Figure study. Initialled lower left. 6.8 by 12 cms image. 24.5 by 30.5 cms framed overall.
Born at Edinburgh, Runciman initially studied at the Foulis Academy, Glasgow, and was later apprenticed to the landscape painter Robert Norie, as well as working as a stage set designer in Edinburgh. In 1767, he went to Rome, where he developed an appreciation for historical subjects under the guidance of Henry Fuseli and James Barry. Upon his return from Italy he settled in Edinburgh, and was appointed master of the Trustees' Academy. He was patronised by Sir James Clerk, whose hall at Penicuik House he decorated with a series of subjects from Ossian, later destroyed in a fire. Highly successful in his lifetime, drawings are rare.