Bruce, George (McKechnie Section 6)

See Section Four for main entry

In all directory entries Bruce is described as a miniature painter; nevertheless, although he was in practice in Edinburgh for more than fifty years, his work in colour is scantily recorded by authorities. Foskett records two miniatures in an entry on 'G. B.'. One of these, signed 'G. B. 1843', she considers to be a copy of an earlier example (not necessarily by 'G. B.') painted c. 1805. The sitter was a Major Pardoe of Worcester. Another miniature, signed 'G. B. 1837', was sold by Christie, Manson and Woods on 15 October 1963. Either or both of these pieces may have been by George Bruce. In the records of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery there is a reference to a work by 'G. Bruce': a 'profile' portrait of Allan Maconochie, first Lord Meadowbank (1748-1816), which was shown at 'The Third Public Exhibition of Paintings, etc. in Scotland' at 16 York Place, Edinburgh, on 9 April, 1810. The reference does not specify whether this portrait is a miniature or an easel painting. It is reasonable to assume that more examples of Bruce's work in colour remain to be discovered.