James Dennistoun of Dennistoun (1803 – 13 February 1855) was a Scottish advocate, antiquary and

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

Life

Dennistoun was born in

Dumbartonshire Dunbartonshire ( gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann) or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders Per ...

in 1803, the eldest son of Mary Ramsay, daughter of

George Oswald George Oswald of Scotstoun (1735–1819) was a Scottish merchant of Glasgow. In 1797 he was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow. Life He was the son of the Rev. James Oswald (1703–1793), and nephew of the merchant Richard Oswald (170 ...

Auchencruive Auchincruive is a former country house and estate in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located east of Ayr, on the north bank of the River Ayr. Auchincruive House was built in the 18th century on the site of an earlier mansion. In 1927, the estate ...

and James Dennistoun (died 1 June 1834). After receiving his education at the universities of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, he became a member of the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constit ...

in 1824. During a continental tour in 1825 and 1826, in which his companions were Mark Napier, Hamilton Gray, and Sir Charles Fergusson, the

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

and literature of Italy first engaged Dennistoun's attention. After his father's death he sold the family estate on the shores of the River Clyde and purchased the farm of Dennistoun in

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

, the centre of the original possessions of his family in that county. In 1833 "James Dennistoun, advocate" is listed as living at 1 Albyn Place, a huge house at the north-east of Edinburgh's First New Town on the edge of the Moray Estate. In 1836 he again went abroad, and spent 12 years away from home, chiefly devoting himself to literary research and art. The winter generally found him in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, while the summers were given to journeys in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and Germany. He formed a collection of early Italian pictures, drawings, and mediæval antiquities, with which he adorned his house in George Street,

, his permanent home from 1847. He was a magistrate and deputy-lieutenant for the

county of Renfrew Renfrewshire or the County of Renfrew is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It contains the local government council areas of Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, as ...

, and became a member of most of the societies formed for collecting materials for illustrating the

history of Scotland The recorded begins with the arrival of the Roman Empire in the 1st century, when the province of Britannia reached as far north as the Antonine Wall. North of this was Caledonia, inhabited by the ''Picti'', whose uprisings forced Rome ...

. In 1835 he married in Isabella Katharina, eldest daughter of the Honorable James Wolfe Murray, Lord Cringletie. He died at 119 George Street,

on 13 February 1855, aged 52. Most of Dennistoun's collection of pictures, drawings, and antiquities was sold at Christie & Manson's on 14 June 1855.

Works

For the

Bannatyne Club The Bannatyne Club, named in honour of George Bannatyne and his famous anthology of Scots literature the Bannatyne Manuscript, was a text publication society founded by Sir Walter Scott to print rare works of Scottish interest, whether in history ...

Dennistoun edited ''Memoirs of the Affairs of Scotland from 1577 to 1603'', by

David Moysie David Moysie () was a Scottish notary public, known as the author of the ''Memoirs of the Affairs of Scotland, 1577–1603''.Also Moise, Moyses, Mosey. Life He was by profession a writer and notary public. A notarial attestation of a lease by hi ...

, 1830. For the

Maitland Club The Maitland Club was a Scottish historical and literary club and text publication society, modelled on the Roxburghe Club and the Bannatyne Club. It took its name from Sir Richard Maitland (later Lord Lethington), the Scottish poet. The club was ...

, ''Cartularium comitatus de Levenax, ab initio seculi decimi tertii usque ad annum MCCCXCVIII.'', 1833; the ''Cochrane Correspondence regarding the Affairs of Glasgow 1745–6'', 1836; the ''Coltness Collections 1608–1840'', 1842, and, as co-editor with Alexander Macdonald, ''Miscellany, consisting of Original Papers illustrative of the History and Literature of Scotland'', vols. i. ii. and iii., 1834, &c. Dennistoun also wrote a ''Letter on the Scotish'' ''Reform Bill by a Conservative'', 1832; ''Memoirs'' of Sir Robert Strange, engraver, and of his brother-in-law,

Andrew Lumisden Andrew Lumisden, Lumsden or Lumiden FRSE FSA (1720–25 December 1801) was a Scottish Jacobite. He was Personal Secretary to Bonnie Prince Charlie during his exile in Rome. He was a joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1783. Earl ...

, private secretary to the Stuart Princes, 1855, 2 vols. and ''Memoirs of the Dukes of

Urbino Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of F ...

, illustrating the Arms, Arts, and Literature of Italy from 1440 to 1630'', 3 vols. 1851. To the ''

Quarterly Review The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by London publishing house John Murray. It ceased publication in 1967. It was referred to as ''The London Quarterly Review'', as reprinted by Leonard Scott, f ...

'', December 1846, pp. 141–67, he furnished an article on ''The Stuarts in Italy'', and to the '' Edinburgh Review'', October 1854, pp. 461–490, a review of

John Hill Burton John Hill Burton FRSE (22 August 1809 – 10 August 1881) was a Scottish advocate, historian and economist. The author of ''Life and Correspondence of David Hume'', he was secretary of the Scottish Prison Board (1854–77), and Historiograph ...

's ''History of Scotland''. He gave evidence before the committee of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

on the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

in 1853, and sent an analysis of the report of the committee to the ''Edinburgh Review'', April 1854.

References

;Attribution *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dennistoun, James 1803 births 1855 deaths Scottish art collectors Deputy Lieutenants of Renfrewshire Members of the Faculty of Advocates