John Watson Gordon (1788-1864) (attributed to)    “Portrait...

Hammer

€440

John Watson Gordon (1788-1864) (attributed to) 
 
“Portrait of a Scottish Military Officer Holding a Sword, c 1840” O.O.C.,  approx. 91cms x 71cms (36" x 28"). (1) 

Aged perhaps fifty, with a high forehead, dark eyebrows and an astute expression, this officer is depicted half-length, facing left, his head turned towards the observer. Dressed in a dark jacket with a high collar—similar to a No. 1 dress uniform—the officer wears a belt, the buckle of which is adorned with a crest. Although in full dress uniform, he is bareheaded, and with his right hand grasps the hilt of a regimental sword, the design of which dates to the Napoleonic period. Alongside the sword can be discerned a ‘Balmoral Bonnet’, a dark blue beret with a red toorie, or bobble, likely belonging to a Scottish regiment. In the background, on the right, can be seen palm trees on a rocky coastline, suggesting that the sitter served overseas, perhaps in India or the West Indies. The detail such as the hand grasping the sword is a characteristic of the portraiture style of John Watson Gordon, where sitters often hold objects such as books, and can be seen in Gordon’s 1830 portrait of Sir Walter Scott, where the novelist’s hands rest on a walking stick.

 

John Watson Gordon was a second cousin of Walter Scott, and a nephew of the portraitist George Watson. Born in Edinburgh in 1788, he received some tuition from his uncle, and also from Sir Henry Raeburn, a family friend. After the death of Raeburn, Gordon became the leading portrait painter in Scotland. In 1826 he was a founder member of the Royal Scottish Academy and the following year exhibited for the first time at the RA in London. In 1850 he succeeded William Allan as President of the RSA. Among his sitters were the Earl of Dalhousie, Lady Nairne, J. G. Lockhart and Thomas de Quincey, but it is his later, more spartan, portraits that can be compared to the present work, which dates probably to the 1840’s. The Watson-Gordon chair of art history at Edinburgh University was endowed by the artist’s family in his memory. Although a fine portrait, the attribution of this work to Gordon is tentative, as he was both prolific and successful and other artists would have emulated his style.
Peter Murray, 2024
Provenance: From the collection of the late Thomas Teevan, Dublin.