Mrs Nicol of Roscobie

Artist Robert Brough (Invergordon, Scotland, 1872 - 1905)

Date1897

Mediumoil on canvas

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall: Height: 84 cm, Width: 115 cm
Frame: Height: 91.8 cm, Width: 122.5 cm

AcquisitionBequeathed in 1934 by Mrs Thorneycroft.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG002646

Keywords

About MeAfter studying at the Royal Scottish Academy and later in Paris, Robert Brough spent three years painting portraits in Aberdeen. In 1897 he moved to London where he became neighbour and friend to London Society's most fashionable portrait painter - John Singer Sargent and like Sargent, Brough painted in a bold and painterly style using rich, vibrant colours. He had become a popular and sought-after artist when in 1905, at the age of thirty-three, he died from injuries sustained in a railway crash near Sheffield. His early death shocked the nation. Contemporary newspaper accounts relate that both the memorial service in London and his funeral in Aberdeen (at which Mrs Nicol was a mourner) were attended by not only friends and relatives but also many well-known artists who greatly admired Brough's work.
The sitter in this portrait, Mrs. Nicol of Roscobie, appears to be a formidable lady. The expression on her intelligent, rather forbidding face suggests her mild irritation at this intrusion into the privacy of her home. She has taken off her "pince-nez" spectacles and turns to look at the viewer.

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What could Mrs Nicol have been reading? Are we interrupting her while she keeps up-to-date with current events? Or is she perhaps contemplating an early version of Sudoku?