John Gray Senior was a highly successful whaling captain. In this portrait he is shown holding a leather and brass telescope, a symbol of success. He was awarded the telescope for saving the crew of the stricken ship Perseverance at the Greenland Sea whaling in 1840.

The painting was handed down through generations of the Gray family before it was given to a private collector with an interest in the history of the whaling industry.

 

©SCRAN/Aberdeenshire Council Captain John Gray Senior