Wikiquote:Votes for deletion/William Aikman


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: Delete.  Cbrown1023  talk  04:44, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

William Aikman
A page for an 18th century portrait-painter. It includes only one quotation, which is certainly about Aikman and the poet Allan Ramsay, but according to the National Galleries of Scotland is by Sir John Clerk of Penicuik. I suspect it would be difficult to find a worthwhile quote by Aikman. Antiquary 22:25, 3 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Vote closed: 23:00, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Delete. - InvisibleSun 03:01, 4 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Delete. ~ UDScott 01:46, 5 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Delete unless we can find quotes by Aikman--Poetlister 15:48, 8 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Strong keep I've tidied it up, added the source and the portrait in question. It's a credible little article, a small human byway of history and something of delight for any reader. If in the sad event of this not being kept, then it should at least be moved to Allan Ramsay, for whom I'm sure Poetlister will soon be bursting with quotes, but I would prefer it here, even if no other items are sourced for Aikman (who is a well known artist). Tyrenius 01:54, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Comment: A single quote by someone else, with no apparent prospect for quotes from the subject (portrait artists not generally known for any of their quotes, however worth they may be for an encyclopedia article), I don't see this current title as useful. I'd agree to a move to Allan Ramsay, per Tyrenius, if someone expects to add quotes for this person in the next week. (We could extend the vote if we get such a promise.) One other obvious alternative is moving to John Clerk (or John Clerk of Penicuik to match WP's article), since it's actually his quote. I didn't turn up any obvious additional quotes to make an immediate case for the move, but here are 3 extant works that may provide some useful material:
 * History of the Union of Scotland and England (ISBN 090624515X)
 * Memoirs of the Life of Sir John Clerk of Penicuik (1892; Google Books digital copy available)
 * Leo Scotiae Irritatus and Other Cantatas (audio CD)
 * Again, if someone thinks they can drum up something useful, I'd rather extend the discussion than just delete the article. ~ Jeff Q (talk) 04:40, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Comment John Clerk of Penicuik is perfect. I've moved the article there and added quotes. I've left the redirect for now, so the VfD link works. I've discovered his father was also called by the same name. See w:Talk:John Clerk of Penicuik. It needs to be confirmed that the right quote is attributed to the right person. Tyrenius 07:16, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
 * I've reverted the move, which shouldn't be done during an active VfD discussion. Let's wait for the results, please. ~ Jeff Q (talk) 07:55, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Weak move to John Clerk of Penicuik. I'm not sure the quotes now added to the article are worth keeping — I don't think we want to add not especially memorable quotes just to say we have some — but there does seem to be some potential. As I mention above, we might want a vote extension to consider this. ~ Jeff Q (talk) 07:58, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.