Alexander Maconochie (1777–1861) of Meadowbank
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
30 1/4 x 25 in. (76.8 x 63.5 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William P. Clyde, 1960
Accession Number
60.94.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
Sir Henry Raeburn, Scotland's preeminent portraitist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, captures the dignified presence of Alexander Maconochie (1777–1861) of Meadowbank in this striking oil on canvas. Raeburn, knighted by King George IV in 1822, was renowned for his luminous, psychologically penetrating portraits of Scottish luminaries during the Enlightenment era. Maconochie, a prominent judge who served as Lord Meadowbank and Lord Commissioner of Justiciary, embodies the intellectual and legal elite of Georgian Scotland, though the exact date of this work remains unknown. Raeburn's...