[Blind Harper]

Patrick Byrne (1797-1863), although blind, was a highly skilled harpist from Ireland. In April 1845 he performed in Edinburgh at one of the Waverley Balls, appearing in a tableau based on Sir Walter Scott's full-length narrative poem The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805).

This portrait of Byrne, taken at Rock House, Hill and Adamson’s residence, shows him as the central figure in Scott's (1771-1832) poem. He is seated with his harp, swathed in blankets, and wearing a wreath on his head. The photograph captures Scott's description of the musician:
The way was long, the wind was cold,
The Minstrel was infirm and old;
His withered cheek, and tresses gray,
Seemed to have known a better day.

For a variant of this image, see 84.XO.734.4.3.17.

Adapted from Anne M. Lyden. Hill and Adamson, In Focus: Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1999), 56. ©1999, J. Paul Getty Museum.