Sir Henry Raeburn
Scotland, b.1756, d.1823
Mrs Barbara Walker of Bowland
- 1819
- Oil on canvas
- Presented by the Walker family, 1984
- 1190 x 990 x 115mm
- 79/281
Tags: academicism, draperies (curtains), dresses (garments), jewelry, necklaces, people (agents), portraits, women (female humans)
About the artist
The 55-year-old Alexander Walker (1764–1831) and his wife Barbara (née Montgomery, 1770–1831) commissioned Scotland’s leading portraitist, Henry Raeburn, to paint their portraits in 1819. They had married eight years earlier; shortly after Alexander’s retirement from over thirty years’ service with the East India Company – mostly in India – and had two young sons. Alexander had one final Company role before him, that of Governor of St. Helena from 1823–28.
Two of their grandsons, William Campbell Walker and Alexander John Walker, immigrated to New Zealand in 1862 to farm in Canterbury; William later became Minister of Education. These impressive ancestral portraits were presented by descendants in 1984.
(Treasury: A Generous Legacy, 18 December 2015 – 27 November 2016)
Exhibition History
The subject of this portrait is Mrs Barbara Walker, formerly Barbara Montgomery, daughter of Sir James Montgomery and wife of Major, later Sir, Alexander Walker whom she married on 12 July 1811.
Her husband began his military service with the East India Company in 1780 and had a distinguished career before returning to Britain in 1810. From 1823 to 1828 he served as governor of St Helena and was soon after knighted.
The artist Henry Raeburn was one of Edinburgh’s most celebrated painters. By the early 1800s he was in great demand for his broad, individual virtuso style of painting. He had no rival in Scotland in his lifetime and painted men and women who were prominent personalities in the vigorous Scottish society of his day. (Label date unknown)
The subject of this portrait is Mrs Barbara Walker, the wife of Major, later Sir,. Alexander Walker whom she married in 1811. The couple had an estate at Bowland, near Galashiels in Scotland, to which they retired in 1825. Henry Raeburn was one of Edinburgh’s most celebrated painters and was in great demand for his broad, individual style of painting. Mrs Walker's direct gaze, and the relative plainness of her empire style silk dress and jewellery, focus attention on her face and her obviously serious and straightforward personality. Born in Edinburgh, Raeburn’s parents both died when he was six and he was put into an orphanage. In 1772 he was apprenticed to a jeweller and goldsmith and remained with him until 1778, but all the while developing his talents at portraiture. Raeburn moved to London in 1784 where he spent time in the studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds. He became an Associate of the Royal Academy and exhibited there from 1792 to 1823. He was knighted in 1822. (Label date unknown)
Related reading: Treasury: a generous legacy
Notes
Study (Woman in a wide black hat) by Raymond McIntyre
This article first appeared as 'The Muse' in The Press on 25 August 2015.
Notes
Still life with flowers in a basket by Pieter Hardimé
This article first appeared as 'Allegory of life's beauty, brevity and fragility' in The Press on 15 August 2014.
Notes
Untitled by Meindert Hobbema
This article first appeared as 'Dutch treat' in The Press on 12 April 2013.
Notes
Angels and Aristocrats
Blair Jackson and I attended the opening of Angels & Aristocrats at Dunedin Public Art Gallery on Friday 27 April. It's spectacular.
Notes
Taking Stock
It's hard to believe, but only eighteen collection works were damaged as a result of all earthquakes, with fourteen damaged on the 22 February 2011.
Notes
Belgian Refugees by Frances Hodgkins
This article first appeared in The Press on 28 February 2007
Belgian Refugees is one of the first oil paintings that Frances Hodgkins ever exhibited, although at the time she was already well accustomed to showing her watercolours. Working in oils and tempera on canvas, she used an experimental technique in this work that gained much from her experience with watercolour. Believed to have been first shown as Unshatterable, in October 1916 at the International Society's Autumn Exhibition in London, the choice of title would suggest a greater sense of resilience than is actually conveyed by this family group. Here only the baby is oblivious to trouble, while his nursing mother seems devoid of expression, and the older children tense with anxiety or fear. Behind the group, a gap in the swirling grey suggests the fact of a missing father, and this steam and smoke speaks of displacement, the atmospheric backdrop of a train station or the symbolic clouds of war. Within the wall of monochrome, intense colour is reserved for mother and child, who also remind of one of Hodgkins' favourite early choices of subject matter in watercolour.
Article
Trove
Recounting the untold stories behind some of the works in the exhibition Treasury: A Generous Legacy, curator Ken Hall also underlines the value of art philanthropy.
Commentary
The wisdom of crowds
In recent years, crowdfunding and crowdsourcing have become big news in the arts. By providing a funding model that enables would-be-investors to become involved in the production of new works, they have altered traditional models of patronage. Musicians, designers, dancers and visual artists are inviting the public to finance their projects via the internet. The public are also being asked to provide wealth in the form of cultural capital through crowdsourcing projects. The Gallery has been involved in two online crowdfunding ventures – a project with a public art focus around our 10th birthday celebrations, and the purchase of a major sculpture for the city. But, although these projects have been made possible by the internet, the concept behind the funding model is certainly not new. The rise of online crowdfunding platforms also raises important questions about the role of the state in the funding and generation of artwork, and the democratisation of tastemaking. How are models of supply and demand affected? Does the freedom from more traditional funding models allow greater innovation? Do 'serious' artists even ask for money? It's a big topic, and one that is undoubtedly shaping up in PhD theses around the world already. Bulletin asked a few commentators for their thoughts on the matter.
Article
The East India Company man: Brigadier-General Alexander Walker
Getting to know people can take time. While preparing for a future exhibition of early portraits from the collection, I'm becoming acquainted with Alexander Walker, and finding him a rewarding subject. Painted in 1819 by the leading Scottish portraitist of his day, Sir Henry Raeburn, Walker's portrait is wrought with Raeburn's characteristic blend of painterly vigour and attentive care and conveys the impression of a well-captured likeness.