Sir Henry Raeburn R.A.

Three-quarter length, seated, wearing a white dress with a black sash and green scarf, a landscape beyond.

By descent to John Parish, Hamburg;
His son, John Parish, Freiherr von Senftenberg, Senftenberg Castle, Bohemia;
Thence by descent to Baron Charles Parish, 1948;
With Newhouse Galleries, New York;
Mr. and Mrs. Kay Kimbell, Fort Worth, Texas;
The Kimbell Art Foundation, Fort Worth, Texas;
Their sale, London, Sotheby's, British Paintings 1500-1850, 12 July 1989, lot 39;
Where purchased by the present collector for £44,600.

Fort Worth, Texas, Fort Worth Art Association, Twenty one paintings from the Kimbell Art Foundation, 1953, no. 13

For a high resolution digital image, please refer to the online catalogue at Sothebys.com or contact a member of the Old Master Paintings department. The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is quite dirty. Its glue lining is effective. Judging by the lack of retouching visible under ultraviolet light, it may be that the bulk of the paint layer is very healthy if the picture were cleaned. The bottom edge does have some broad retouches, and it seems that this retouching probably extends to all of the edges. There is a horizontal restoration in the face in the cheek on the right side, and in two spots beneath her chin. There are no restorations apparent in her dress or shawl. The sky seems to be intentionally quite brushy, and no restorations or damages are necessarily expected to become apparent here when the painting is cleaned. While one expects restorations to be applied to 18th century portraiture, this picture seems to be in much better condition than most, and it should be properly cleaned and retouches where necessary. The picture does not seem to have been over-cleaned, and the retouches required should be confined and modest.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The sitter, Henrietta Tod (1745-1810), married Dundee born banker, John Parish (1742-1829) in London in 1768; the couple lived in Hamburg and had eight children.  Though Henrietta’s husband had no title, their son John Parish (1774-1858) purchased Senftenberg Castle and its estate in Bohemia in 1817 and acquired the noble title of Freiherr von Senftenberg two years later. He and his wife had no children and the estate passed to the surviving brother Richard in 1858, his brother David having committed suicide in 1826.

We are grateful to both David Mackie and Duncan Thomson for independently endorsing an attribution of this lot to Sir Henry Raeburn on the basis of photographs.  The Portrait of Mrs. John Parish will be included in Mackie's upcoming catalogue raisonné on the artist.