JOHN FAED, R.S.A. | First Bloom of Youth (recto), Sketch for The Soldier's Return - Robert Burns (verso)

Sotheby's, Gleneagles, Olympia, Scottish and Sporting Pictures, 31 August 2005, lot 806

Probably Edinburgh, Royal Scottish Academy, 1858, no.340, exhibited as She Gazed, She reddened Like a Rose (vide The Soldier's Return)

Robert Burns, The Soldier's Return, Royal Association for the Promotion of Fine Arts in Scotland, 1857, Young Lovers was engraved by Lumb Stocks R.A., The Soldier's Return was engraved by Henry Lemon;
Mary McKerrow, The Faeds: A Biography, 1982, illustrated p.19 (Lumb Stocks' engraving of The Soldier's Return) p.146

The board is slightly bowed in the middle and providing a good stable support. The work appears to be in good overall condition. UV light inspection reveals an area of retouching to the upper left hand framing edge. There are some very minor flecked retouchings around the figure's feet with some further minor specks elsewhere. The retouching has been sensitivley executed and is minimal. Held in a decorative gilt frame. There is a layer of protective plastic to protect the study verso.
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