Sep 17, 2025
David Hume, 1711 - 1776. Historian and Philosopher
Artist: Allan Ramsay (Scottish, 1713-1784)
Date: 1754
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland
Description
This is the first of two portraits by Ramsay of the historian and philosopher, David Hume. It was painted during Ramsay’s extended stay in Edinburgh in 1754, when, together with Adam Smith, Hume and Ramsay helped found an exclusive debating club known as the Select Society. In the same year, Hume also published the first volume of his celebrated History of England.
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