How does The Skater elucidate its Background?
In 1775 Stuart left his home in the United States for London, and by 1777 he was apprenticed there to Benjamin West. By 1781 Stuart's progress was such that West desired to sit for a portrait by the younger painter, and the resulting painting was favorably received at that year's Royal Academy exhibition.Later in 1781 Stuart was approached by Sir William Grant, a well-placed young Scotsman from Congalton in East Lothian, not far from Edinburgh, who wished to commission a full-length portrait. Stuart had not yet successfully completed a figure in full-length format—he had, in fact, been loath to accept at least two such previous commissions, and was said to have been incapable of painting a figure "beneath the fifth button". Encouraged by the recent reception of his work at the Royal Academy, he agreed to accept the commission from Grant.When he arrived to begin sitting for the portrait, Grant remarked that "on account of the excessive coldness of the weather ... the day was better suited for skating than sitting for one's portrait". Presently artist and patron left for the Serpentine in Hyde Park, where the two men took to the ice, and Grant engaged in a series of skating maneuvers that attracted an admiring crowd. When the ice beneath them began to crack, Stuart instructed Grant to take hold of his coattails, and led him safely to shore.Upon their return to the studio Stuart started to paint Grant's head directly—he never drew with a pencil—then stopped and suggested a composition inspired by their venture on the ice. Grant consented, and Stuart subsequently rendered the figure from memory.
Sir William Grant Hyde Park Royal Academy Benjamin West left Edinburgh Serpentine