Lieutenant General Hay Macdowall

Today we got a painting in... It's awesome.

I think it's around 6' x 9' painted by Sir Henry Raeburn in the early 19th century, probably around 1820's. My job now is to verify it as an original, there are two other versions of this painting, one in I think Albany and another in South Africa. So this is going to be fun researching, but I mean it's what I want to do for a living. There is a date on it and two signatures but they don't match up with the original (supposed) artist, but that happens, people who own the paintings or commission them like to sign them also, and it's obvious that the signatures are sitting on top of the vanish showing that they were added at a later date... Well anyways, enough with what I do, but I'm so excited! Now we have two very large very old important pieces that I'm researching. The other I still have to go through papers from Christies and Sothebys... Oh art!




The painting itself needs some cleaning and some restoration on scratches, I probably will clean it and then once we have a buyer our restorer will come in and fix the hole/etc. Sorry about the glare, it's leaning against the wall and the varnish is super reflective. Once it's cleaned I'll post more pictures.



My outfit just happened to match, I didn't know the painting was coming this morning but I got to work and the truck was outside. But really I matched. Originally I had the sash tied as a loose bow around my neck but hey it works as a great shoulder sash. I was wearing my everyday sandals but I threw on these old boots I had in the trunk of my car to try to emulate his riding outfit. And really the high waisted pants I just bought fit with him perfectly.

Blouse - Penguin Original Clothing  ||  Pants - American Apparel   ||  Sash - American Apparel  ||  
Boots - My Mom's Basement  ||  Necklace & Hair Clips - Vintage


What do you think of the tight high-waisted pants? Do they look alright? I was worried about my body type in them, but the were so soft and comfy I couldn't pass them up.

5 comments:

Unknown | July 2, 2010 at 11:53 AM

um your job is super cool. you must be super detail oriented. i think the pants look great. i was actually thinking before you asked how good the pants look and if they are comfy double bonus.

Annie, The Friendly Fox | July 3, 2010 at 11:14 PM

haha, I love these pictures! How great that you just happened to be matching such an old piece. Love it!

Sara | July 4, 2010 at 12:55 PM

They look great! These pics are so awesome! I am glad that you took out the boots in order to match. Good luck restoring and researching.

stylenuggets | July 4, 2010 at 7:39 PM

How lucky to see the painting up close and I love your outfit

Unknown | January 20, 2011 at 7:42 AM

Lauren - Hay Macdowall was an officer in the Scots regiment "The Black Watch" (42nd Highlanders) at the time of the American Revolution. He was a recruiting officer in Scotland before going to India with the 2nd Battalion, 42nd Regt. Let me know if you want more info. Have whole bio. (writing book on the regiment)

Paul