National Galleries of Scotland marks Sir Henry Raeburn’s 200th anniversary by welcoming rare portrait to the National collection

The National Galleries of Scotland has announced the acquisition of Patrick Moir, (1769–1810), 1785‒6 by the celebrated Scottish artist, Sir Henry Raeburn. Marking the bicentenary of Raeburn’s death on 8 July 1823, this unique portrait is now on display and available to view for free at the National in Edinburgh.

This exciting new acquisition joins the most comprehensive and internationally important collection of Raeburn’s work, held by the National Galleries of Scotland on behalf of the nation. The national collection also includes Raeburn’s much loved and incredibly popular ‘Skating Minister’ painting, Reverend Robert Walker (1755‒1808) Skating on Duddingston Loch, about 1795, also on display at the National.

Patrick Moir, 1769–1810, gives important insight into Raeburn’s early development as an artist. The painting depicts a known individual but also owes much to a fashionable type of composition or ‘fancy picture’ – half-portrait and half-genre – which was internationally popular at the time.

This rare portrait was painted in Rome at a key moment in Raeburn’s life and career, and is the only known portrait dating from his one study visit to Italy (from 1784‒6). It will join the National Galleries of Scotland’s significant holdings of art relating to Scots undertaking a ‘Grand Tour’ of Italy, including works by Allan Ramsay and William Aikman. In spite of the great expense involved, many artists aspired to travel to Italy in the 18th and 19th centuries, like the so-called ‘Grand Tourists

During his visit to Rome, Raeburn’s most influential acquaintance was James Byres of Tonley (1734–1817), a well-known dealer in antiquities and ‘Old Master’ paintings. Byres was also a popular tour guide, especially for Scottish ‘Grand Tourists’. Patrick Moir, 1769–1810 is a portrait of Byres’s young nephew, the son of Reverend George Moir (1741–1818) of Peterhead in North East Scotland. In time, Patrick managed his uncle’s business and became known as the ‘English Banker in Rome’ and a supplier of funds to Cardinal York, brother of Prince Charles Edward Stewart. The portrait is believed to have been commissioned by Byres and is the only known full-scale portrait associated with Raeburn’s visit to Italy. It remained in Rome with the rest of Byres’s art collection during the turmoil of the city’s invasion by French revolutionary troops. Its survival and eventual return to Byres in Aberdeenshire is one of the many fascinating stories attached to this unassuming portrait.

Sir Henry Raeburn (1756–1823) was the top Scottish portrait painter of the late 18th and early 19th century. In his lifetime he painted more than 1000 canvases, despite lacking any formal artistic training. He was born in the village of Stockbridge, then on the outskirts of Edinburgh and was later apprenticed to a local goldsmith. This is when he began experimenting with portrait miniatures, eventually progressing to full-scale portraits. From the late 1790s Raeburn established himself in a spacious custom-built studio at Number 16 (now 32) York Place on the eastern edge of Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town. In 1819 he was elected to the New York Academy of the Fine Arts. Three years later he was knighted during George IV’s State visit to Edinburgh, followed by appointment as portrait painter to the King in Scotland.

To celebrate the anniversary of Sir Henry Raeburn, and this new acquisition, the National Galleries of Scotland hosted a free public lecture on Tuesday 4 July. Available online or in person at the National, Senior Curator Helen Smailes explores the origins and wider cultural context of this rare pictures, together with Raeburn’s fascination with sculpture.

National Galleries of Scotland Senior Curator, Helen Smailes, said: “This fascinating painting has been a cherished heirloom of the Moir-Byres family since 1785 and is a remarkable survivor of the French invasion of Italy in the 1790s. Raeburn’s only known portrait painted in Rome, its acquisition has transformed the Galleries’ internationally important holdings of his work. We are delighted to have been able to save Patrick Moir for the nation in Raeburn’s bicentenary year, with the unwavering commitment of the Moir-Byres family and generous support from The Art Fund.”

Jenny Waldman, Director, Art Fund, said: “This rare painting is the only known surviving full-scale portrait from Sir Henry Raeburn’s stay in Italy, a formative moment in the artist’s career. I’m thrilled that Art Fund has been able to support this important acquisition, where it will join the National Galleries of Scotland’s world-leading collection of Raeburn’s work for the public to enjoy for many years to come.”

The National Galleries of Scotland acquired the painting through the Private Treaty Sale scheme, which allows private owners to sell items considered to be culturally pre-eminent to national organisations without recourse to an auction process and with prices beneficial to both. The acquisition was enabled by £54,000 support from Art Fund, together with funds from the Cowan Smith and Treaty of Union Bequests (National Galleries of Scotland).