Sir Walter Scott and his family

Engraving on paper from a painting ‘The Abbotsford Family’ by Sir David Wilkie, depicts Scott and his family dressed up as simple country-folk engraved by John Smith.

There are four engravings of this painting all by known artists: W.H. Worthington (1828), Robert Graves (1837), John Smith (1847), and William Greatbach (184-?).

This engraving shows Scott very much as the country gentleman - seated figure, with the rest of his family surrounding him.

The character standing to Scott’s left is a childhood friend Sir Adam Fergusson, Knight-Keeper of the Regalia of Scotland, in the character of a ‘country wag’. Behind him are, standing from left to right, Thomas Scott (a shepherd on the Abbotsford estate), Charles Scott (Sir Walter’s youngest child) and Walter Scott junior (Scott’s oldest son). To Scott’s right are, from left to right, Scott’s wife (Charlotte Charpentier, Lady Scott), his youngest daughter Anne, and oldest daughter Charlotte all dressed as milkmaids