An edited volume devoted to the reception and reputation of Edinburgh's premier Enlightenment portrait painter.Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823) is especially well known in Scotland as the portrait painter of members of the Scottish Enlightenment. However, outside Scotland, the artist rarely makes more than a fleeting appearance in survey books about portraiture. A review of the most recent exhibition devoted to the artist held in Edinburgh and London during 1997/8, noted that it wears the aspect of a closure rather than a new dawn' in Raeburn studies, with the painter being shown 'in solitary splendour'.This volume seeks to recover Raeburn from his artistic isolation by looking at his local and international reception and reputation, both in his lifetime and posthumously. It focuses as much on Edinburgh and Scotland as on metropolitan markets and cosmopolitan contexts. Previously unpublished archival material will be brought to light for the first time, especially from the Innes of Stow papers and the archives of the dukes of Hamilton.Key Features* 14 chapters each looking at different aspects of Raeburn's professional career* International scholars contributing to Raeburn studies for the first time* Interdisciplinary perspectives setting a new agenda for Raeburn studies* Traditional art analysis integrated with cultural, social, political and economic history* Includes much unpublished archival materialKeywordsScotland, Raeburn, Enlightenment, portraiture, art, patronage, taste, collecting

The history of collecting is a topic of central importance to many academic disciplines, and shows no sign of abating in popularity. As such, scholars will welcome this collection of essays by internationally recognised experts that gathers together for the first time varied and stimulating perspectives on the nineteenth-century collector and art market for French eighteenth-century art, and ultimately the formation of collections that form part of such august institutions as the Louvre and the National Gallery in London. The book is the culmination of a successful conference organised jointly between the Wallace Collection and the Louvre, on the occasion of the acclaimed exhibition Masterpieces from the Louvre: The Collection of Louis La Caze. Exploring themes relating to collectors, critics, markets and museums from France, England and Germany, the volume will appeal to academics and students alike, and become essential reading on any course that deals with the history of collecting, the history of taste and the nineteenth-century craze for the perceived douceur de vivre of eighteenth-century France. It also provides valuable insight into the history of the art markets and the formation of museums.