The content on this page is aggregated and is not affiliated with the artist.
ID Photo: Painting of D.R. Hay, 1830, by George Harvey
"David Ramsay Hay FRSE (March, 1798, Edinburgh -10 September 1866) was a Scottish artist, interior decorator and colour theorist.
... son of a published poet and friend of Robert Burns, Rebekah Carmichael. After her husband died, David was educated at the expense of an uncle, then apprenticed as a painter with the house-painters Gavin Beugo & Robertson in Edinburgh, as was his friend the topographical artist David Roberts. In April 1820 he commenced work at Abbotsford for Walter Scott.
...an advocate of imitative finishes such as graining and marbling, and textured paints to imitate brocade fabrics." (Wikipedia)
"Taking the advice of Sir Walter Scott to study house-painting, rather than risk obscurity and penury as an artist, he set out to master the art. In April 1820 he commenced work at Abbotsford for Sir Walter and worked there for many years.
...
From the start of his career, Hay took an interest in the theoretical side of his work and in 1828 published the first of a number of books, The Laws of Harmonious Colouring. This work ran to 6 editions in 19 years, each edition increasing in scope. It is the last of these The Laws of Harmonious Colouring adapted to Interior Decorations, with observations on the practice of house painting that is the most useful for anyone studying the use of paint and colour in 19th century decoration.
The success of his first book led to him producing a series of other, highly theoretical volumes which investigated such subjects as the harmony of form, the principles of colouring, and the role of symmetry and proportion in defining beauty.
Among these works, the most successful was his Nomenclature of Colours, the first edition of which was published in 1845... Subsequent volumes dealt with Hay’s ideas on beauty and proportion to the human head, the ..." http://patrickbaty.co.uk/2011/12/03/hays-nomenclature-of-colours-2/ undefined