 What is known is that, on 6 April 1636, the 19-year-old Wright was apprenticed to George Jamesone, an Edinburgh portrait painter of some repute.The Edinburgh Register of Apprentices records him as "Michaell, son to James W(right), tailor, citizen of London".The reasons for this move to Scotland are unclear, but may have to do with familial connections (his parents may have been London Scots) or the advent of plague in London.