Flora Macdonald
- Artist: Richard Wilson
- Date: 1747
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 46 in. x 36 3/4 in. (1170 mm x 933 mm)
- Portrays: Flora Macdonald
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
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About this artwork
Here you see Richard Wilson’s 1747 portrait of Flora Macdonald. The canvas measures about 46 by 36 inches, a generous size for a sit‑down portrait. Wilson lays out his oils in warm, subtle washes that make the young woman look relaxed yet attentive. Her face is rendered with fine detail – a soft brow, gentle smile, and clear eyes. In context, Macdonald was a Jacobite heroine from the Outer Hebrides; she helped Prince Charles Edward Stuart escape after Culloden by dressing him as a maidservant called Bettie Burke. Wilson’s painting circulated as an engraving, cementing her reputation.
See it in person
Flora Macdonald is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
