JAMESON, or JAMESONE, GEORGE (c. 1587-1644), a Scotch portrait painter, was born, probably in 1587, at Aberdeen, where his father was architect and a member of the guild. After studying painting under Rubens at Antwerp, with Vandyck as a fellow pupil, he returned in 1620 to Aberdeen, where he was married in 1624 and remained at least until 1630, after which he took up his residence in Edinburgh. The department of painting which he chiefly practised was portraiture in oil, but he also painted a few historical subjects and landscapes. His portraits are generally less than life size. According to Walpole they are characterized by "delicacy and softness, with a clear and beautiful colouring"; but, although undoubtedly the instructions of Rubens had left their influence on his style, he has no claim to the title of the Vandyck of Scotland by which he is often known, and perhaps owed even his exceptional fame in Scotland as much to chance as to his own merits. Having been employed by the magistrates of Edinburgh to copy several portraits of the Scottish kings for presentation to Charles I. on his first visit to Scotland in 1633, the king rewarded him with a diamond ring from his own finger. This circumstance appears to have at once established his fame, and he soon found constant though not very remunerative employment in painting the portraits of the nobility and gentry of his native land. He also painted a portrait of Charles, which he declined to sell to the magistrates of Aberdeen for the price they offered. The largest collection of the works of Jameson is said to be that in Taymouth castle, and, besides those in the houses of several of the gentry of Scotland, there are a few in the colleges of Aberdeen. He died at Edinburgh in 1644.