Skip to main content
The Recovery Of The Stolen Child by Sir William Allan
The Recovery of the Stolen Child
The Recovery Of The Stolen Child by Sir William Allan
The Recovery Of The Stolen Child by Sir William Allan

The Recovery of the Stolen Child

Artist (Edinburgh, Scotland, 1782 - 1850)
Date1841
Mediumoil on panel
ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings
DimensionsOverall: Height: 102.6 cm, Width: 162.5 cm
Frame: Height: 151.2 cm, Width: 211 cm, Depth: 16 cm
AcquisitionPresented in 1915 by Mrs Allan.
CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDAG004522
About MeThe woman seiz'd the wandering child,
And, heedless of its cries,
Bore to her gloomy gipsy haunt -
The struggling, weeping prize.

But, hark! The sound of many feet -
A rescue is at hand!
The parents, with their rustic train,
Rush on the caitiff band.

Vainly would words depict the scene,
Or speak the mother's joy,
While clasping to her beating heart
Her lov'd, her only boy!

This anonymous poem was given as an accompaniment to the painting when it was exhibited in 1851.

Gypsies were a common subject in Victorian lore and there is some suggestion that Allan's gypsy - pictured in the centre as she is apprehended for stealing a child - represents Sir Walter Scott's Meg Merrilies, who in turn was based on the real-life gypsy queen, Jean Gordon.

In legend, if not reality, Gordon was nearly six-feet tall with striking, masculine features. The stereotype that gypsies stole children owed much to the famous abduction of the four-year-old Adam Smith, future economist and author of 'The Wealth of Nations'. Like Allan's subject, Smith was safely returned to his family by a search party. Allan's painting amalgamates all of these tales about gypsies - true and legendary.
More About Me

Here the artist is capitalising on popular 19th century myths of children being stolen by gypsies.