| Description Of Item | Oil on canvas, 78.7 x 66 cm
Alexander Dick was the third son of Sir William Cunningham of Caprington, Ayrshire, and Janet, only child of Sir James Dick of Prestonfield, Edinburgh. He studied medicine in Edinburgh and Leyden, obtaining a MD from Leyden in 1725 and from St Andrews in 1727. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1727.
After 10 years of practice in Edinburgh and Pembrokeshire he travelled in Europe along with Allan Ramsay, the portrait painter. He succeeded to the Baronetcy and the estate of Prestonfield in 1746, at the same time assuming the family name of Dick. He did not return to practise in Edinburgh but took a prominent part in College affairs. He was President for seven years and was particularly interested in the building of the new Physicians' Hall in George Street. Sir Alexander was host to Johnson and Boswell at Prestonfield House, and to Benjamin Franklin and John Morgan of Pennsylvania. Morgan was the first American Licentiate and Fellow of the College.
Artist: Allan Ramsay (attributed to) |