The scene is the epitome of 19th-century domestic ease and comfort. The subject matter settled in an armchair draped with a thick colourful blanket. Her sewing box is open but she has set apart her embroidery and is absorbed in her e book, comforted by a feline companion slumbering on her lap.
The subject matter is Elizabeth Allan-Fraser (1805-1873) and this affectionate portrait was built by her partner. The portray resists Victorian sentimentality by means of its authenticity – this is a genuinely warm picture. The fireplace is felt fairly than noticed, but we can just glimpse the dance of orange flames in the shiny black grate.
The few first satisfied in 1842 when the youthful artist Patrick Allan returned to his native Arbroath to undertake a commission for an version of Sir Walter Scott’s novel, The Antiquary. Scott is recognised to have been affected by Hospitalfield House and by Arbroath’s spectacular coastal cliffs in producing the novel and he fictionalised the area as the environment for narrative.
It was at Hospitalfield Property that Patrick satisfied Elizabeth Fraser, heiress to the estate. A brief courtship followed and the pair ended up married the pursuing calendar year. Allan would go on to consider the Fraser identify in honour of Elizabeth’s household and their 30-12 months relationship was evidently characterised by genuine fondness, heat, perseverance, mutual regard and sizeable marketplace.
The few still left no heirs to the Hospitalfield estate, and they committed on their own to supporting artists and artwork education and learning in Scotland in their life time and by means of an astonishing legacy when the estate was bequeathed in belief to help artists and education in the arts. Hospitalfield was founded as Scotland’s initially residential School of Art in 1902 supporting students of constrained suggests via four a long time of tuition in goal-crafted artists’ studios.
The few developed a assortment of artwork – performs collected and commissioned largely for their suitability to inspire and instruct youthful learners of art. In this respect, the portrait of Elizabeth is unrepresentative within the Hospitalfield collections.
The scene exists right now in the dining home at Hospitalfield nearly specifically as it is depicted by Allan-Fraser. The smaller oval portrait of Big John Fraser, Elizabeth’s father, remains in situ, as does the home furniture and decoration. The elaborately carved 17th-century Flemish oak cabinet dominates the very same wall, which is decorated with early 18th-century embossed leather panels in gilt on eco-friendly, that includes bouquets and scrolls. Elizabeth’s sewing box, and even some illustrations of her embroidery function and yarns, even now relaxation in the exact location. Today, the dining space is utilized by artists who appear to dwell and perform at Hospitalfield as a result of our programme of residencies, drawn to the tranquillity of this area overlooking the back garden.
You can see extra art from the Hospitalfield Dwelling collection on Artwork United kingdom right here, and obtain out additional on its site.
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