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| William Forsyth (1749–1814) |
Artist:Sir Henry Raeburn (British, Stockbridge, Scotland 1756–1823 Edinburgh, Scotland)
Date:ca. 1800
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:30 x 24 7/8 in. (76.2 x 63.2 cm)
Classification:Paintings
William Forsyth was a merchant from Aberdeen. He married Mary Rannie (1756–1826) in 1777 and they had four children: Margaret, born in 1779 and later Mrs. William Smith; James, born in 1781; William, born in 1783; and Thomas, born in 1789. The family lived in Nova Scotia from 1784 until 1800, when they returned to Scotland and settled at Greenock, near Glasgow. Both parents sat for Raeburn shortly after their return, and there are two versions of each portrait. The Museum's painting and its pendant (location unknown) may have belonged to the Forsyths' daughter, Margaret. The other pair descended together in the family through the Forsyths' son Thomas until after 1953; subsequently the portrait of William belonged to Mrs. Ivan (Griselda Todhunter) Hills, Polesden Lacy, and the portrait of his wife belonged to Ursula Todhunter.
The Museum owns a copy of an unpublished memoir written by the sitter.
[2010; adapted from Baetjer 2009]
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