Engraving of Samuel McDonald, the Scottish Hercules, by John Kay

Samuel McDonald is shown in the uniform of the Sutherland Fencibles, in which he was a private. He kept a pet deer, which sometimes accompanied him on walks around Edinburgh.

This was the second portrait that Kay executed of Big Sam. Known as Big Sam or the Scottish Hercules, he was six feet ten inches tall. It was said that he was given extra pay, because 'so large a body must require more sustenance'.

John Kay was born near Edinburgh in 1742. A keen artist from childhood, he was a barber until 1785 when he became a full-time engraver and painter of miniatures. His portraits of Edinburgh characters are vivid and unmistakable.

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Online ID:	000-000-100-227-C
Image Rights Holder:	National Museums Scotland
Project:	0207: The Thistle at War Project description \| View all records in project
Ref:	National Museums Scotland Lib.1640.66
Date:	1796
Material:	Paper
Dimensions:	280 mm H
What:	Print / portrait
Subject:	Prints
Who:	John Kay (artist) Samual Macdonald Sutherland Fencibles
Where:	Scotland, Midlothian, Edinburgh (depicted)
Event:
Description:	Portrait of Samuel McDonald in the uniform of the Sutherland Fencibles, by John Kay, Edinburgh, 1796. From Kay's Portraits. Volume II, Plate LXVI.
References:	Kay, John A series of original portraits and caricature etchings with biographical sketches and anecdotes 2 volumes Edinburgh: Hugh Paton, 1837-38
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