Portrait of Janet Anderson

Like The Allen Brothers, this portrait dates from early in Henry Raeburn’s career. A recent cleaning has brought out the broadly applied, “square” brushstrokes that are the hallmark of his technique, especially in the painting of the clothes. He was a prolific and largely self-taught artist who became the most sought-after portraitist among the landowning and professional classes of his native Scotland. Born Janet Mitchelson, the sitter married John Anderson, an Edinburgh lawyer, in 1784. They had nine children.