David Ramsay Hay

David Ramsay Hay was a Scottish artist, interior decorator, and colour theorist who lived from March 1798 to 10 September 1866. Born in Edinburgh, he was the son of Rebekah Carmichael, a poet. Hay was apprenticed to a decorative artist and later worked at Abbotsford House for Walter Scott in 1820. He also decorated Holyroodhouse for Queen Victoria in 1850. Hay developed theories on colour harmony, publishing "The Laws of Harmonious Colouring Adapted to Interior Decorations" in multiple editions starting in 1828. He was an advocate of imitative finishes like graining and marbling. In his later years, he had premises at 90 George Street in Edinburgh. He died in Edinburgh and is buried in Warriston Cemetery.