Alexander Scott

Alexander Scott (1854–1925) was a British landscape and portrait painter known for his depictions of diverse regions, including India and Hawaii. He was the son of Thomas Dewell Scott, a portraitist for The Illustrated London News. Scott’s extensive travels heavily influenced his artwork, with notable exhibitions of his paintings and sketches of India and Kashmir at the Fine Art Society in London in 1889 and posthumously in 1932. His 1910 portrait of William Goodell is housed in the Mütter Museum, Philadelphia.

Scott spent several years living in Darjeeling, India, painting landscapes like the Himalayas and cultural landmarks such as the Taj Mahal. His fascination with ancient artifacts led him to collect objects during his travels, eventually collaborating with the University Museum of Philadelphia, where he served as the Honorary Representative of Oriental Archaeology. Between 1915 and 1918, Scott acquired objects for the museum during the "Alexander Scott Expedition to India," working closely with the museum’s director, George Byron Gordon.

In India, Scott befriended Sir John Marshall, the Director-General of Archaeology, and painted at excavation sites like Taxila. His work and artifact acquisitions, which sometimes came at personal financial risk, contributed significantly to the University Museum's collections.