Details

Object type

painting

Title

Mrs Anne Campbell

Artist/Maker

Henry Raeburn artist

Culture/School

Scottish

Date

circa 1776-1823

Materials

oil on canvas

Dimensions

framed: 1053 mm x 931 mm x 126 mm; unframed: 762 mm x 635 mm

Description

This portrait, depicting Mrs Anne Campbell, was painted by Henry Raeburn, the prominent Edinburgh-based portraitist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Little is known about Anne Campbell except that she was the daughter of Thomas Campbell of Tomperran in Strathearn, and married Colin Campbell, a merchant owning a West Indies trading company, who bought in 1768 the estate of Park in Renfrewshire and sold it in 1789.

Of outstanding quality, this portrait exemplifies Raeburn’s bold use of light effect. The lower face is here strongly lit while the upper is shadowed by her hat, which is quite unusual for a portrait.

The picture is an excellent example of an older Scotch ladies described by contemporaries, such as Henry Cockburn in Memorials of his Times, as strong-headed, warm-hearted and high-spirited. Mrs Campbell is soberly dressed, wearing a black dress referring to her widowhood. However, she wears a cashmere shawl considered at the time as a luxury good.

Twenty-one portraits of the Campbell family members were bequeathed to the museum in 1917 by one of their descendants, Isabella Campbell, including this portrait and its companion, the portrait of Anne’s husband, Colin Campbell.

Credit Line/Donor

Bequeathed by Isabella A H J Campbell, 1917

ID Number

1419

Location

In storage