Dennistoun, James, 1803-1855

Scottish antiquary who wrote "Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino" and "Memoirs of Sir Robert Strange and Andrew Lumisden." Collected early Italian and Spanish pictures and miniatures, and did research on the history of Dumbartonshire.

James Dennistoun, the eldest son of James Dennistoun of Dumbartonshire, was born in 1803 and educated at the universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, becoming a member of the Faculty of Advocates in 1824. His interest in art and antiquities, particularly the Italian masters, was strengthened during a tour on the Continent in 1825 and 1826.

After his father's death in 1834 he sold the family estate on the Clyde and purchased the farm of Dennistoun in Renfrewshire. In 1836 he left Scotland and spent the following 12 years primarily in Germany and Italy, pursuing research and collecting early Italian art, drawings and medieval antiquities. From 1847 on these were displayed in his Edinburgh home.

Dennistoun was a member of and contributor to the Maitland Club and the Bannatyne Club, editing several early texts for their publication series. The author of several works, he is perhaps best known for his Memoirs of the Duke of Urbino Illustrating the Arms Arts and Literature of Italy from 1440-1630 (1851), and Memoirs of Sir Robert Strange and Andrew Lumisden (1855). In 1853 he wrote an influential article for the Edinburgh Review criticizing the collecting policies of the National Gallery in London, and later that year appeared before the Select Committee on the National Gallery.

James Dennistoun died in Edinburgh on February 13, 1855. The greater portion of his collection was sold at Christie's & Manson's on June 14, 1855.