The Letter of Introduction

{{Short description|Painting by David Wilkie}}

{{Infobox artwork

| image_file= File:Sir David Wilkie - The Letter of Introduction - Google Art Project.jpg

| image_size=360px

| title= The Letter of Introduction

| artist=David Wilkie

| year=1813

| type=Oil on panel, genre painting

| height_metric=61

| width_metric=50.2

| metric_unit=cm

| imperial_unit=in

| museum=Scottish National Gallery

| city=Edinburgh

}}

The Letter of Introduction is an 1813 genre painting by the British artist David Wilkie.Macmillan p.176 It shows a young man in an awkward situation having called on a potential patron early in the morning with what turns out to be a worthless letter of introduction. The man, a gentlemen scholar, has an unwelcoming expression while his dog is noticeably hostile.Tromans p.156

The painting was shown at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition of 1814 along with The Refusal.Tromans p.9 Today it is in the collection of the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh, having been acquired in 1938.https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/5577