Portrait of: James Drummond
By: R. White
After: I. Roiley
Style: Line engraving
Date: 1686
Dimensions: 19. 4 x 28. 5 cm
James Drummond, the Fourth Earl of Perth (1648–1716). He was an ambitious politician and by the end of the 1670s was actively involved in Scottish politics. In 1678 he became a member of the Scottish Privy Council. Perth and his brother, Lord John Drummond (1649–1714), attached themselves to the interests of the Duke of York, who was sent by Charles II to govern Scotland.
He was an instrumental patron involved in the foundation of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, which was granted its charter by Charles II in 1681. The College was established in order to license and incorporate practicing physicians in Edinburgh. The powerful position of his family and his connections to other influential families is clearly emphasised in this portrait.
