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The Orphan (Hearing The Word)
The Orphan (Hearing The Word)

The Orphan (Hearing The Word)

Artist (Aberdeen, Scotland, 1841 - 1913)
Date1866
Mediumwatercolour on paper
ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings
DimensionsSight Size: Height: 47.3 cm, Width: 32 cm
Frame: Height: 70 cm, Width: 55.3 cm
AcquisitionPresented in 1925 by Mrs D M M Milligan.
CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDAG003962
About MePreviously entitled "An attentive listener" this work is refered to in Reid's biography, which was dictated by him to his wife Mia in 1882. In it the work is called "The Orphan" and consequently this title now replaces earlier ones; "Hearing the word" and "An attentive listener". In the biography the figures in the pews are identified as Reid's maternal grandmother (Grannie), his father and his youngest brother Sam.

The scene is set in St Machar's Cathedral, Old Aberdeen. Even by 1882 the old pews and gallery stairs had been removed.