Sir Henry Raeburn
| Sir Henry Raeburn | |
|---|---|
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Raeburn in a self-portrait, c. 1820
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| Born |
4 March 1756 near Edinburgh |
| Died | 8 July 1823 (aged 67) Edinburgh |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Known for | Portrait painting |
| Spouse(s) | Charlotte White |
| Elected | FRSE, RSA, RA |
| Patron(s) | King George IV |
Sir Henry Raeburn FRSE RA RSA (/ˈreɪbərn/; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter and Scotland's first significant portrait painter since the Union to remain based in Scotland. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland.
Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in , on the Water of Leith; a former village now within the city of Edinburgh. He had an older brother, born in 1744, called William Raeburn. His ancestors were believed to have been soldiers, and may have taken the name 'Raeburn' from a hill farm in Annandale, held by Sir Walter Scott's family. Orphaned, he was supported by William and placed in Heriot's Hospital, where he received an education. At the age of fifteen he was apprenticed to the goldsmith James Gilliland of Edinburgh, and various pieces of jewellery, mourning rings and the like, adorned with minute drawings on ivory by his hand, still exist. Soon he took to the production of carefully finished portrait miniatures; meeting with success and patronage, he extended his practice to oil painting, at which he was self-taught. Gilliland watched the progress of his pupil with interest, and introduced him to David Martin, who had been the favourite assistant of Allan Ramsay the Latter, and was now the leading portrait painter in Edinburgh. Raeburn was especially aided by the loan of portraits to copy. Soon he had gained sufficient skill to make him decide to devote himself exclusively to painting. George Chalmers (1776; Dunfermline Town Hall) is his earliest known portrait.
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