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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition => Topic started by: artlover123 on Monday 25 January 21 18:20 GMT (UK)
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Dear all,
Please take a look at the handwriting on the back of this portrait. It was lent to an exhibition in Glasgow and from what I can make out states on the 4th line 'John, Duke of Lauderdale.' This would make sense given the image but the first lines regarding who lent it to the exhibition and critically who the artist is I cannot make out.
Your help is much appreciated!
Best wishes,
Joshua
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I see
Colonel Gordon Gilmour can't work out the next word
The Inch Liberton Midlothian
Julie
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Colonel Gordon Gilmour of Craigmillar
Brigadier-General Sir Robert Gordon Gilmour (1857-1939) - you'll find him on Wikipedia.
What is the rough date of the painting?
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I thought the word going down the slope was Hamilton .
Viktoria.
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There are quite a few newspaper articles mentioning Gordon Gilmour of The Inch, Liberton.
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That's excellent, thank you. The name of the lender and his address! Can anyone read the inscription next to 'Article lent,' and the last line after the one mentioning the Duke?
Re the picture it is early eighteenth century, late seventeenth. I would say it is contemporary to the Duke.
Best,
Joshua
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The words after ‘article lent’ are ‘Portrait of’
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Possibly exhibited at the Scottish National exhibition in 1911
03 May 1911 - Evening Mail - London
Doesn’t say the name of the artist! Was there a catalogue I wonder.
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https://www.abebooks.co.uk/Palace-History-Catalogue-Exhibits-Scottish-Exhibition/254904424/bd
Scanned copy
https://archive.org/details/palaceofhistoryc02scot
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The search isn’t working as well as it might for me.
But he had quite a few exhibits
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So that link is to Vol 2. Need to find Volume 1
Found it. The artist is SCOUGALL. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Here's the catalogue - pages 35-36.
https://archive.org/details/palaceofhistoryc01scot/page/n103/mode/2up
The artist is Scougal
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Snap GR2
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Do we get to see the front as a reward? Please.
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Bet it looks like this. My best Scougal style.
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Of course it could turn out to be “circle of” or “after” as here. (I think the forename is John not David)
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-honourable-william-maitland-brother-of-the-4th-earl-of-lauderdale-211066/search/venue:thirlestane-castle-7378/page/6/view_as/grid#
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There's David Scougal fl. 1654-77, John Scougal c 1645-1737 and George Scougal, John's son.
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Bet it looks like this. My best Scougal style.
;D
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And the artist! You are all so brilliant, thank you. I wonder, how did you get into the archives so quickly? I can't see a link online, does one have to be a member of an institution? I wonder which Scougall it is and whether there is any further provenance... I pick the painting up in the next day or so so I'll pop more images up on here then. Are there any records on file regarding the then owner and his collection I wonder. Perhaps family diaries or documents donated to a public institution? In this case is it sometimes worth contacting descendants?
Its all very exciting this detective work.
Very best,
Joshua
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Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould stand aside here we come!
That was rather fun.
I think to be sure which SCOUGALL it is you need to actually ask at one of the institutions that has examples of their work.
This research group at The Hunterian seem like the place to start. And they probably know all about Gilmour’s collecting too.
https://technicalarthistory.gla.ac.uk/john-scougall-hunterian-portraits/
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I wonder, how did you get into the archives so quickly? I can't see a link online, does one have to be a member of an institution?
Nothing fancy
After finding the newspaper article I posted the clip from, I googled “Scottish national exhibition 1911 catalogue”.
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Hi
For all of us who are nosey, this is the portrait the label refers too.
https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/search-results?searchterm=lauderdale
Spendlove
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Thank you Spendlove.
Joshua, over to you now to establish whether it really is all it claims to be on that label!
We expect a report ;D
PS. Are you selling it tomorrow?
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Thank you again for your help! I study History of Art at Oxford and love the thrill of discovering lost pictures, particularly portraits - stand aside Philip Mould and Fiona Bruce indeed! But alas this one looks to have gone to an old boy like that with the margins to back a picture that may well or might not turn out to be right. I wish I could follow up on it as suggested above but as you can imagine the price of the picture went way above my top margin at £5,000 + (estimate £400-£600).... Looks like we were on to something after all!
Sad to have missed a discovery but must chin up and crack on.
Best wishes,
Joshua