On this day in 1796 the artist, David Roberts, was born in Edinburgh.
The son of a shoemaker, who began his career as an apprentice house painter, Roberts became a scene painter for circuses and for the theatre. Having honed his skills, he became a Member of the Society of British Artists from 1824-1836. By 1838 he was made a Royal Academician. He also had an interest in the newly-'developed' art of photography, and the image is taken from one of the world's earliest known photographs.
