The Trial of Sir William Wallace in Westminster Hall. c.1851. Oil on canvas, 54 x 73 inches (137 x 185 cm). Collection of Guildhall Art Gallery, accession no. 601. Click on image to enlarge it.
Scott began this painting in the late 1840s and exhibited it at the Royal Academy in 1851, at a time he was still primarily interested in being a history painter. He had a particular interest in the history of the Borders, which was later to find its full fruition in his murals for Wallington Hall. The painting illustrates the trial of William Wallace, a hero in the war for Scottish independence from the English. He was tried for treason in 1305 and brutally executed by being hung, drawn and quartered. The figure of Wallace was modelled from Scott’s friend Ralph Wornum, an instructor from the Government School of Design in London.
.Last modified 6 February 2022