Lot Essay
Begun in 1839, John Knox Dispensing the Sacrament at Calder House was never finished. A sketch and the unfinished painting are both at the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. Wilkie was working on two versions of the subject when he set out in 1840 on his journey to the East, from which he never returned.
Another sketch of the subject taken from the same sheet as the present drawing, with a continuation of the description of Wilkie's 1839 R.A. exhibits on the verso, is also in the National Gallery of Scotland.
Another sketch of the subject taken from the same sheet as the present drawing, with a continuation of the description of Wilkie's 1839 R.A. exhibits on the verso, is also in the National Gallery of Scotland.