This paper discusses and contrasts the steady and unsteady two-dimensional problem of laminar free convection from an inclined elliptic cylinder for small Grashof numbers. The governing Navier-Stokes and heat equations are formulated in terms of the streamfunction and vorticity. The results demonstrate that the steady and limiting unsteady flows are in good agreement near the cylinder surface while interesting departures occur in the far-field. Both numerical and analytical results are presented. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.