Robert Brown of Newhall
Sir Henry Raeburn·1792
Historical Context
Raeburn's portrait of Robert Brown of Newhall (1792) is from his earlier period, when his characteristic bold style was still developing toward the full maturity of his later work. Brown was a Scottish gentleman whose portrait shows Raeburn working with a slightly more conventional approach than his mature manner — the brushwork somewhat tighter, the lighting less dramatically direct. The portrait belongs to a period when Raeburn was establishing his practice and reputation in Edinburgh, building the network of clients among Scotland's professional and landed classes that would sustain his career through the following decades. The sitter's composed dignity and the careful rendering of his costume reflect the social expectations of Raeburn's early Edinburgh clientele.
Technical Analysis
The earlier work shows a more blended, less dramatically lit approach than Raeburn's mature manner. The face is carefully modeled with warm flesh tones, and the overall handling shows the transition toward his later, bolder style.
Provenance
By descent in the Brown family to the sitter’s grandson, Horatio Robert Forbes Brown [Greig 1911 gives the owner as H. Brown]. Mrs. William Hayward, New York, by 1924 when she consigned it to Knoedler’s, New York [according to letter of 6 January 1995 from Melissa de Medeiros, Knoedler]; sold by Knoedler to Marshall Field III, Huntington, Long Island, 1924 [according the letter cited above]; Evelyn Marshall Suarez, formerly Mrs. Marshall Field III (died 1979), Easton, near Syosset, Long Island and New York; bequeathed to the Art Institute in memory of her son, Marshall Field IV, 1980.
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