The memoirs of Mr. Macklin, having been published in two large volumes to them we refer our readers for a full account of this very singular character. The few pages we could devote to the subject would very imperfectly trace the outlines of a life, so full of interest and variety. MR. DAVID WILKIE, Is a native of the northern division of our island, where his father is minister of Coults, a small village in the county of Fife. Here, we believe, he was born in the year 1786, and after receiving the best education his fa ther had it in his power to give him, he was placed in 1801 at the academy of Mr. Graham, in Edinburgh, to study drawing. In this pursuit, to which it is more than probable that he was directed by some secret propensity, he made such a proficiency, that he was soon distinguished above all his companions for his drawings from the antique; and in 1803 he obtained the premium for the best historical drawing. : The first finished oil-painting that he is known to have , produced exhibits a representation of a fair at his native village. Into this piece he has introduced about one hundred and forty figures, many of which are portraits, Vol. IV. |