Alexander Nasmyth was a painter, illustrator, landscape gardener and engineer. He was educated for a career in architecture, but at an early age he showed artistic talent, and in 1773 he was apprenticed to James Cummyng (c. 1730-92), a house decorator and antiquarian. Nasmyth painted panels for carriages at Alexander Crichton's coachworks and attended evening classes at the Trustees' Academy. When Allan Ramsay visited Crichton in 1774, he was impressed with Nasmyth's ability. Nasmyth subsequently accompanied Ramsay to his London studio where he continued his apprenticeship for four years.

Nasmyth returned to Edinburgh at the end of 1778 and soon obtained ample employment as a portrait painter. His earliest wor...