Patrick Allan-Fraser

1813 - 1890

Patron of the arts. Born Patrick Allan in Arbroath, the son of a weaving merchant, he gave up commerce and embarked on an artistic career. Training at the Trustees' Academy in Edinburgh and then in Europe, he returned to Scotland where he married the young widow Elizabeth Fraser-Baker of Hospitalfield in 1843. He embarked on a programme of estate management which quickly restored his wife's fortunes. An enthusiast for the arts and crafts movement, Allan-Fraser remodelled Hospitalfield House into one of the finest 19th century country houses in Scotland.

A devoted art collector, Allan-Fraser was a patron of many Scottish artists and promoted international exchange as President of the British Academy of Art in Rome. He was elected to the Royal Scottish Academy in 1874 and was also known for his portraits.

He lies buried in a Mortuary Chapel of his own design in Arbroath's Western Cemetery. The Patrick-Allen Fraser of Hospitalfield Trust was established in his honour to promote young artists and run Hospitalfield for the purposes of education.

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