John Faed

Essentially self-taught, John Faed was the oldest of three brothers, all of whom achieved distinction in the fine arts. In the 1840s Faed exhibited portraits in miniature and in oils at the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh. Following his election as academician in 1851, his repertoire expanded to include genre subjects and literary illustrations with Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns, his cherished sources of inspiration. His most famous painting, The Wappenschaw (1861, National Trust for Scotland, Edinburgh), is a vast contemporary history painting in the tradition of Sir David Wilkie (1785-1841). Between 1864 and 1869 Faed lived with his brother Thomas in London and began exhibiting annually at the Royal Academy. Historical subjects constitute the most interesting of his later pictures.