Henry Raeburn Dobson

Family

Henry Raeburn Dobson, who was to become a fine society portrait painter, was born into middle-class family with roots in Kirkcudbright, Scotland. His father, Henry John Dobson (1858–1928)10, was himself a Scottish genre and portrait painter from Dalry. His grandfather, Thomas Dobson, was a wool merchant in the town of Kirkcudbright. It is said in the family that there was a Dobson wool mill in Dalry. Perhaps this mill was owned and run by Thomas.

Henry John did not maintain the family tradition of running the family wool business. To become a painter he sacrificed his inheritance since family legend has it that Thomas Dobson disowned his son. Henry John's whole life would be marked by financial difficulties.

Henry John married Jeannie Charlotte Hannah Cowan on 17 September 1890, in Dalry, in the district of Kirkcudbright. To exercise his art (and because there were more opportunities for paintings portraits in the Scottish capital) they later moved to a house in Edinburgh. Raeburn was born there at 9, Merchiston Crescent in a house that is stated to have had at least "7 rooms with one or more windows". At that time, the family had an in-house servant, Barbara Sutherland.

As a portrait painter, Henry John did not have much success. He transitioned into Scottish genre paintings in the style of Thomas Faed (1826–1900), Henry Wright Kerr (1857–1936) and David Wilkie (1785–1841). These scenes were especially popular in the United States and Canada, where they were often printed on tin biscuit boxes. Because Henry John often had difficulties paying the rent, the family moved quite often. It is said that he actually lived from hand to mouth and that it was mainly due to the household skills of his wife Jeannie that the family survived.

Siblings

Raeburn was the youngest of Henry John Dobson's four children. The oldest child was Thomas Stanley, born in 1892 and named after his grandfather. He was known as Stanley. He became an actor, but also worked for an art dealer named Robertson in London. David Cowan Dobson was born in 1894 and was known as Cowan Dobson, a well known London Society portrait painter. Although he painted some very fine portraits of well known men, like Earl Attlee, Earl Beatty and Harold Wilson, he mainly portrayed "fashionable London ladies". The name Cowan was given to David after his mother's family name. The only sister was Louisa Rankin. She was born in 1896 and was also known as Louie. She had an intense family bond with her younger brother and – together with mother Jeannie – looked after him her whole lifelong.

Raeburn was given the name of Henry Raeburn, after the famous eighteenth-century Scottish portrait painter, Sir Henry Raeburn (1756–1823), whom his father admired hugely.

School years

Despite Henry John's financial precariousness, he sent his children to good local schools. Little is known about Raeburn's school days. His first years of formal education were spent at James Gillespie's High School, in Edinburgh. He and Louisa were enrolled together, on 5 September 1906. The family then lived at 4 Glengyle Terrace, Edinburgh.

Raeburn left Gillespie's on 18 July 1911 to attend the prestigious George Watson's College, also in Edinburgh. The family attached much importance to good education. At that time, the school was based near Lauriston Place in the centre of Edinburgh. Only in 1932 George Watson's College moved to present building in Colinton Road, outside the city centre. He was admitted to George Watson's College on 26 September 1911. He left the school in July 1917, to attend (according to the school's archives) Art College.

In his last year at the College (his fifth) he studied English, History, Mathematics, Latin and French. His best subjects were the latter two. Drawing was then only taught to boys up to the fourth year. His art teacher at Watson's was Ralph W. Hay In art teaching he was a pioneer of the Modern Movement in Scotland. He was one of the first to break away from the traditional colourless nineteenth-century way of teaching drawing. He was all in favour of colour, decoration and the expression of fantasy. This may explain why Raeburn's portraits – unlike his brother's portraits – are more colourful.

There is one odd circumstance which has been noted in his records. Henry left the school without warning in July 1912 to attend Mr. A. Miller Inglis' School for Boys, Maidenhead College, Maidenhead, Berkshire. Mr. Inglis was a cousin of his father. The note states "…but probably not to be there long as mother is missing him being at home."25. He did indeed return quickly to Edinburgh and returned to George Watson's College, but this time he stayed at a private boarding house run by Mrs. Imrie, who catered for George Watson's College pupils.

His art education started by being taught drawing and painting by his father. In 1917, after his years at George Watson's, he attended the Edinburgh College of Art, but only for one year According to his R.A.F. file, he attended the Royal College of Art in London the following year, where he studied until 1924. However, this cannot be proven, because the Royal College of Art in London does not have any records of Raeburn. In 1921, he was elected "Associate Member" of the Royal Cambrian Academy, of which he became a full member in 1930.

London years

Raeburn left Edinburgh sometime between 1928 and 1929 and went to live and work in London, only to return to Scotland after the War. Several references state the following addresses for Raeburn :

However, these addresses are a mixture of residences, post boxes and studio addresses. In 1945 he had a forwarding address at the shop where his brother worked. In 1947, Raeburn had already returned to Edinburgh and lived a very long time in Queen Street, before moving to Fettes Row, on the outskirts of the Georgian New Town of the Scottish capital. The address at the Scottish Liberal Club was probably a post box. But, he exhibited there and he may also have had some rooms there.

Mavisbush Lodge was his workshop. At that time (1965) he lived in a flat at 5, Fettes Row, Edinburgh.

In the early 1920, his elder brother Cowan Dobson, an official war artist, had already settled in the British capital. He was well established in London, and in his home town Glasgow. His wife, Phyllis Bowyer, a fragile looking lady, always elegantly dressed and made up with powder and red lipstick, was a driving force behind his success. Cowan and Phyllis travelled constantly between Glasgow and London and probably made Raeburn decide to try his luck in the British capital.

Although Raeburn's sheer production of portraits is amazing, and although he was considered as one of the best portrait painters in Edinburgh, Raeburn, contrary to his elder brother, was never be as commercially successful as Cowan: neither in London, nor in Edinburgh and not even in Brussels. Raeburn himself seemed not to have been interested in making money and – unlike his brother – did not have a wife who would make this her vocation.

In London, Raeburn lived in expensive places. Thurloe Square and Cranley Place, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, were prestigious addresses, as was Earls Court Road. He wanted to create an image for his customers and properly for himself: the image of a well-to-do society painter. Such image was very much acceptable for his customers. In the late 1920s, Raeburn befriended a Mrs. Humphries. She belonged to the 'London Set' and was a close friend to Harold Macmillan. She introduced the painter into the London Society. Through Mrs. Humphries, the painter met many prominent figures. He was introduced to the Mitford family and – through them – was exposed to their political views. In this pre-war period Raeburn painted the portrait of Gordon Highlander Col. Osbaldeston-Mitford, which was destroyed in a bomb attack in 1940, and – in 1928 – one of the few life-size portraits he ever made, the portrait of the Maharaja of Jodhpur (India), Umaid Singh.

On 19 January 1939, Raeburn married the 13 years younger Isabella Rae Smith Dawson. She was born in Falkirk, near Stirling, Scotland, on 23 September 1913. In the marriage certificate is stated that she was the daughter of chemist researcher Hugh Leishman Smith, by the name of Hugh Smith Dawson. However, when researching Isabella's genealogy, her father seemed to have been an ironmoulder and that her forefathers were all labourers, colliers and coal miners from Falkirk, Muiravonside and Tillicoultry (Clackmannan). The couple never lived together. After the wedding, Raeburn continued living with his mother in Cranley Place where he lived with his mother, who mainly looked after the house for him. And Isabella remained at her address at 85, Warwick Road. Both mother, Jeannie Cowan, and sister, Louie, were not in favour of this marriage and probably did everything they could – if not to prevent it from happening – then to terminate it. It is said that they had some suspicion about Isabella's identity and history.

The marriage did not last long, because RAF records of 1942 state that Raeburn was separated from his wife. Strangely there is no official record of a divorce, nor of an annulment in the Registers of the Divorce Courts of England and Wales. However, it is possible that the marriage was annulled – or that they were divorced – in Scotland. According to many family members, Raeburn took Isabella Rae often to family gatherings. And she was very much liked by all his nieces and nephews. Nothing more is known about Isabella.

In his biography of Henry Raeburn Dobson, Dr. Cabris refers to his marriage to Isabel Rae Smith Dawson. This marriage took place in 1939 and according to Dr Cabris did not last long as in 1942 his RAF record shows that he was separated from his wife although no record of a divorce seems to be available. It is also stated that while his mother and sister did not like his wife being somewhat suspicious of her stated history, his nephews and nieces and other members of his family very much enjoyed her company.

Dr.Cabris' research shows Isabella's father was in fact a moulder from Falkirk not, as she claimed, a research chemist. He concludes that part of the biography by saying that nothing further is known of Isabella.

Isabella Rae Smith Dawson was the daughter of a moulder, Hugh Smith Leishman Dawson of Falkirk. She and her sisters Elizabeth and Ann together with brothers Hugh and John were born in Falkirk. The family then moved to Birmingham where her father took employment in a Birmingham foundry. It was there that her sister Jean and brother William were born.

Isabella moved to London early in the war years where she worked as a telephonist. In 1945 Isabella married Capt. William J Stangel of the USAF who flew a Mustang in the American Squadron nicknamed the blue nosed bastards. He achieved the fighter pilot status of AAce@ with five, possibly six, kills to his name. As Dr Cabris has said there appears to be no record of a divorce between her and Raeburn and indeed later in 1945 she was tried and found guilty of bigamy and sent to prison. During that time my wife was sent to live with her grandmother in Birmingham. The marriage to Capt. Stangel would have been nullified due to the bigamous element, but whether that also served to complete the divorce from Raeburn is not known and as stated no record of any such divorce appears to be available.

In later years Isabella married and RAF sergeant.

As stated Isabella died in 1983 having been ill for some time. Captain, later Major, Stangel died in 1974.

Raeburn's World War record

During the Second World War, he joined the Royal Air Force (RAF), interpreting photographs of enemy positions made by RAF reconnaissance flights. He most probably got his training for this in the secret quarters of Medmenham. He joined the RAF as an ordinary airman (aircrew) in 1942. He is recorded as being 5-foot 8 inches and having brown eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion. However, on 16 June 1943 he was commissioned as officer. He was granted a commission as an Acting Pilot Officer on 17 June 1943. On 3 March 1944 he was promoted to Flying Officer. He was demobilised on 12 February 1946, but kept on the reserve until he relinquished it on 10 February 1954.

After the Invasion, Raeburn served under the command of Air Marshall Sir Arthur Coningham in Paris, and continued to serve as an Interpreter until his demobilisation in 1946. Raeburn became well befriended with the Air Marshall and attended many parties on his yacht in Cannes. In a letter to his sister, Raeburn wrote : " …we are leaving on the yacht at 10.30. A very large party today. 20 people. Four Princess (one the Prince of Monaco) and goodness knows how many Counts and Comtesses are coming. What a life ! Phyllis would be in her element among all this life. I have a nice wee girl friend, daughter of the Prince de Faucigny-Lucinge, a Rothschild, and one of the oldest families in France. She's a darling...." But, he found life on the French Riviera quite frustrating. He wrote to his sister : " …This place is demoralizing. One can't settle to write or do anything. I am having the usual difficulties to be expected painting an air marshal on holiday {the Air Marshall and Lady Coningham had left France for England}, but I will win in the end...."

His cousin Andrew Blackwood Dobson remembered : "…I do recall him telling me (or Dad) that he did follow in the frontline RAF behind the lines into Europe, interpreting photo reconnaissance as the invasion advanced and that in his spare time he drew portraits of fellow officers in the mess. I think it was through this activity that he met Belgians during the advance through Belgium...." while another cousin Andrew Njal Dobson remembered especially the viewer and stereographs Raeburn had used during the war.

In July 1944, The Times of London published a rather bizarre obituary of Henry Raeburn. The reason for this obituary is not known. But the very much alive painter was certainly much alarmed by this slight "error". In The Times of Monday 7 August 1944 he wrote: "...Mr. Henry Raeburn Dobson, the Scottish portrait painter, who is at present serving with the R.A.F., wishes to be known that the NOTICE of his DEATH through enemy action is UNTRUE...."

Post-war years

After the War, Raeburn left London and went back to live in Edinburgh. It was also around that time that his Belgian 'adventure' started (see further).

His first own post-war studio in Edinburgh was at 12, Shandwick Place, in the Georgian part of the city. He occupied this studio from 1941 until 1947. Before that, he had been exhibiting at the gallery of the art dealer and collector Mathieson, in Frederick Street. It was in Shandwick Place that the portraits of Bill, Janette and Andrew Blackwood Dobson, his cousins, were painted. Shandwick Place is the street leading west from Princes Street at what is known in Edinburgh as the West End (of Princes Street). It is part of the western extension of the New Town, but many of the Georgian buildings have been replaced with Victorian and later buildings. No. 12 is now a nightclub. In Raeburn's time however it contained suites of showrooms and studios, while on the top floor there might have been an apartment.

Raeburn's studios always faced north. Raeburn indeed always rented spaces facing north, because northern light is the best light for painting. He especially liked to paint when the sky was bright blue with some clouds at the horizon, to reflect the northern light.

It must also have been around the end of the 1940 that he met his life companion, Miss Evelyn Wight. They met at the Royal Scottish Dance Society in Edinburgh. Evelyn Agnes Mark Wight, was the daughter of George Wight and Catharina Mark, and born 26 July 1900 in Edinburgh. Raeburn and Evelyn were often seen at Jenners in Princes Street, having their afternoon tea.

They remained very good friends, until she died from a heart attack at her home at 13, Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh on 2 April 1985, only a few weeks before his own death.

Many described Evelyn as the 'arty' person and some claimed that there was an aura of sadness about her because Raeburn did not marry her. We do not know whether Raeburn could not marry Evelyn because he was in fact still married to Isabella Rae, whether he simply would not give marriage a second try after the rather disastrous first attempt or whether unmarried life actually suited him. Raeburn would always refer to her as "Miss Wight" and would never take her to official events, and hardly ever to family events.

From 1950 until 1964, Raeburn exhibited in the Royal Scottish Academy and maybe in the Scottish Liberal Club. But, besides an inscription on the reverse side of the first portrait of the Bishop of Bath and Wells stating that his address was at the Liberal Club in Edinburgh, no written proof about the latter has been found.

In 1956 he exhibited a portrait of Stewart McKechnie in McLellan Galleries in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.

Around 1965, he moved his studio to the Lasswade area, at Mavisbush Lodge, in Polton. The upper floor of the coach house (a long rectangular space) was transformed into his studio in 1965. Raeburn then knew it as Mavisbush Lodge, but it has since been renamed Priorwood Lodge. The Lodge was owned by one of his cousins, who set up this work space in the attic of the house.

In the early 1970s, when the Lodge was sold, Raeburn moved his studio from Polton to his one bedroom flat on the first floor of 5, Fettes Row, on the edge of Edinburgh's New Town, which he had bought earlier on.

Around that time Raeburn started to have serious physical problems and at the end of the 1970 his eyesight started to fade and he started to suffer from arteriosclerosis.

Raeburn in Belgium

As mentioned before, Raeburn's career in Belgium started after the hostilities of World War II, in 1946. In August 1945 he was still serving under Marshall Arthur Coningham in Paris. But, in April 1946 he writes a letter to his mother from the house of a Madame Duchateau at the fashionable address of Avenue Jeanne, 52 in Elsene, Brussels, telling that he was just about to furnish his painter's studio.

This lady is said to have had a son killed during the War and asked Dobson to paint a portrait of her son, from a photograph. However, there is a doubt about the identity of the dead son, because in a letter to his mother dd. 11 April 1946 Raeburn wrote : "…My first snag took place yesterday, however. Mr. Marshall, who's portrait I started when I was over before heard only yesterday morning that his son, who had been missing for a year was actually shot by the Germans last spring. His body has been identified. Mr. Marshall is extremely cut up at this definite news and won't be able to sit for a week or two I fear. He is not a young man. First snag !! I wonder when the next one will crop up and what form it will take.…"

It is therefore more likely that the portrait of the dead 'son' which introduced Raeburn in Belgian High Society was the portrait of the son of Mr. Marshall and not of Madame Duchateau.

The portrait was such a success, that Raeburn was recommended as portrait painter to countess de Liedekerke, Madeleine Beckaert, who recommended him to many other Belgian aristocratic families. Raeburn became well befriended with some of these Belgian families, especially with the family of Baroness Cécile Van Houtte-de Stella, with the Carton de Tournai and with Princess Léontine de Ligne de Lambertye-Gerbéviller. He stayed extensive times at their castles and was invited to the wedding of Baron Van Houtte's daughter. He even arranged for his cousin Janette Dobson in 1955 to act as an 'au pair' to the family of H. Baron Carton de Tournai of Bonsecours, near Perluwez, Belgium.

In Brussels, he set his first studio up in April 1946 (see above) at 11, Barricadenplein. In a letter to his mother of 11 April of that year he wrote: "… Yesterday I organized my studio. What a beautiful light. I have had a store put in and have got an easel throne, chair, table on loan.…" Since the end of the War, Raeburn would come every year to Belgium for three or four months, to look for and to work at his commissions.

Later he moved his studio to the socially far less acceptable area of Sint-Joost-Ten-Noode (Brussels). But, as many of his customers refused to come to this ill-famed borough, Raeburn went to their homes and resided there for an extended period of time while painting the family portraits.

In 1974, while painting the portraits of Countess Lippens and of Monsieur Jadot, he felt ill and suddenly went back to Edinburgh. He never finished either portrait. After 1975, he only shortly visited Brussels on several occasions, and gave the impression of being very forgetful and confused at times. He suffered from arteriosclerosis, which lead to anterograde amnesia and finally to senile dementia.

Last years

Raeburn's last years were quite difficult. Because of his arteriosclerosis, he was unable to care for himself. This became clear when his friend Margaret Doughty, née McKechnie visited the painter in his flat on Fettes Row. She found the place getting more and more uncared for indeed, and rather messy. The sad thing was that Raeburn was well aware of his failing mental health.

In 1977, his eyesight started to fade. In that very year, he started a watercolour portrait of Kirsten Doughty the daughter of his friend Margaret Doughty, née McKechnie. However, due to his fading eyesight, the portrait became a true disaster. Raeburn was well aware of this and promised Margaret a new portrait of her daughter. It took him two years to complete this work. It turned out to be his last.

On 31 January 1979, Raeburn wrote to Margaret Doughty, née McKechnie, in an ailing handwriting: "My Dear Margaret, Do please forgive me for never having written to you to acknowledge receipt of your lovely letter with all the nice compliments for the portrait of Kersten. It was grand to know it was so well liked: and I thank you for your cheque for £52.50p. in payment thereof. I am beginning to find life is getting a bit too hectic for me at my age, and I shall have to pack-up soon. It is a tremendous job for me to face – The giving up of this flat and all my work. I think the portrait of Kersten will be one of the very last I shall paint. Thank you again for your lovely letter & cheque. I hope we meet sometime soon. Love to you both. Raeburn. PS. I shall take your cheque to my bank today."

Around 1980, Raeburn's mental health deteriorated dramatically. Baroness Van Houtte reports that Raeburn would visit her unannounced, while thinking he had an appointment.

The last time she saw him, he looked quite bewildered. Around that time, Margaret Doughty, née McKechnie met him a last time, walking on the Edinburgh streets. During the conversation, Margaret realised he did not know who she was and that he had very much mentally declined.

Shortly after the completion of the portrait of Kirsten Doughty (1980), Raeburn left his flat on the border of Georgian Edinburgh for "The Elms", a nursing home outside the city centre, run by the Church of Scotland.

He stayed there for several years, until he moved in his last days to Grange Care, a private nursing home for the incapacitated elderly, at 8, Chalmers Crescent. There, he died on 22 May 1985 at 21.40 hours of a stroke (cerebrovascular accident).

His remains were cremated and his ashes were adjoined to the grave of his parents, Henry John Dobson and Jeanie Cowan in Mortonhall Cemetery, on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

Reaburn did not have any children. He left a testament, leaving his few goods mainly to Evelyn and some friends, while his house was sold to cover his debts and cremation. In his will he did not leave any notice about the future copyright of his paintings.

Character

Getting an accurate picture of Henry Raeburn Dobson's character is quite difficult, because there are hardly any written testimonies on his life. He never got a real formal artistic education. He was not an intellectual man, but a craftsman. He never advocated big theories on art. He wrote few letters. He hardly ever spoke about his private life, either to strangers, or to family.

He gave few interviews and was only mentioned in the newspapers a few times. Therefore, we have to rely on interviews with people who have known him a little better: close relatives, friends and clients. Raeburn seems to have been a warm, friendly and cheerful man and was quite an outgoing person. He attended many official functions and private parties in high society (parties in the entourage of HRH Princess Margaret, of Princess de Ligne, of Baroness Van Houtte a.s.o.). He was very entertaining and always in good spirits. He was a well-liked houseguest. People began to know him as a public figure and with him, his art. The post-War years until the beginning of the 1970s were his most successful time. His reputation was established as one of the best portrait painters of Edinburgh by word of mouth and was asked to paint portraits of many members of high society.

Raeburn was an elegant man, well spoken and well educated; loved by the female sex. He indeed loved to paint pretty and elegant ladies, but did not care very much for the social background of his sitters while painting. Although he was some sort of a socialite. He seems to have preferred the companionship of women to the friendship with men. For children he was a true entertainer: by impersonating different characters and performing magical tricks, he would catch their attention during long sessions of portraiture.

His Scottish origins were essential to him. Abroad and in Scotland, he was proud to wear his kilt. and his typical chequered waistcoat, all year round.

He was not interested in money, but painted for the love of his art. Although he had many commissions and was regarded as Edinburgh's best portrait painter, he mostly lived from hand to mouth or from commission to commission. It must be stated that, while his brother Cowan had the benefits from the commercial talents of his wife, Phyllis Bowyer, Raeburn could rely on anybody to promote him or his talents. In addition to his quite casual lifestyle, Raeburn refused to have anything to do with the art-establishment in Edinburgh. Although he had been influenced by the Modern Movement, through his art teacher Ralph Hay, he refused to conform to the later emerging Modernist Movement, while the backbench politics of the Royal Scottish Academy made him rebel even more against this closed circle of painters.

Behind this seemingly 'happy' man, lay in fact a quite self-cantered character, who took notice of the needs of his surroundings to a rather limited degree. Although he was briefly married to Isabella Rae and had a companion in Evelyn Wight, he lived the life of a bachelor. He would leave Edinburgh for months, going abroad and leaving Evelyn behind. Although Evelyn and Raeburn had a very deep friendship for over 35 years, he never proposed to marry. It is said that one could see the sorrow in her eyes, because of this neglect.

Painting technique

Raeburn used often cheaper materials, which he bought at the art shop of John Mathieson and at Aitkin Dott Galleries (in Fredrick Street) in Edinburgh. His canvas consisted mostly of industrial prepared thin linen, with a thin layer of grounding (singled primed), prepared by "Winsor and Newton Ltd., London" or by "Robertson & Co. Ltd., London".

The canvasses were nailed onto the frames with small black head nails. Raeburn used industrial prepared but stable paint (Winton), which has kept its original colour. He always used bright and lively colours and used light impastos to represent fabrics. He was a master in painting hands (the most difficult part of a portrait).

His varnish technique was far from good. It seems he varnished his paintings while they were still on the easel, instead of lying down. This made the varnish dripping down and be unevenly spread over the painting, resulting in areas of high reflection, followed by matt areas. However, the different patches in the reflection of the varnish also indicates that Raeburn did not only varnish his paintings vertically, but that in addition, he let his paintings dry for a too short while, before varnishing them. Because of the different drying times of oil paints, this meant that the varnish did not dry evenly (polymerisation). The varnish (Damart) seems in all paintings to be quite stable.

Most of the portraits are still in a good state, although most of the canvasses were not properly stretched onto their frames (2004–2009).

Work

The work of Raeburn Dobson stretches over a period of about 60 years. He tried to make the British capital his home.

However, Scotland was always closer to his heart. Eventually he returned to live and work in Edinburgh. There, although he tried to ignore the modernist movement of his time, he went his own way and became one of the leading portrait painters in the Scottish capital.

His heyday was from the 1950 until early 1970. As a portrait painter, he was not only highly regarded by members of the aristocracy, but also by the clergy, scientists, writers, entertainers, physicians, the constabulary, and ordinary members of the general public.

His wartime experience brought him to Belgium, where he became 'the' portrait painter of an exclusive aristocratic circle. To his Belgian friends, he was the epitome of the Scotsman: friendly, elegant, well educated, and fun to be with and always wearing a kilt.

He was very reserved and hardly ever spoke about his private life or about his paintings.

His work consisted for the major part of portraits. Like his father, he also painted some watercolours and genre paintings. However, the quality of these genre paintings (unlike with his father) never reached the same quality of his portraits and can be considered as rather by-products.

When Henry Raeburn came to Belgium in 1945, his art of portraiture was already relegated to the past, redeemed as "passé", as "boardroom painting" or as "commercial painting"; and himself redeemed as being a mere "society painter".

When all of this may be true, even so, Henry Raeburn left us with some astonishing portraits: the portraits of Baroness Cécile Van Houtte and of Monsieur André Pirmez, the portraits of Richard Durand Trotter and of Dr. James Charles Thomson and the portraits of Dr. Andrew Rae Gilchrist and of Kevin Connolly are fine examples of his post-war production.

While the colour scheme reflects hardly ever the character of his sitter, it does reflect the painter's influence by Modernism and the Colourists. In many ways his portraits are very conservative, especially in the 1920s and 1930s. But with his post-war period, when he starts to use rougher brush strokes and brighter colours, Raeburn really tries to bridge the Old (Victorian tradition) with the New (the Colourist Movement).

Through his paintings one may also spot Raeburn's interest in the sitter. One may say he probably had more pleasure in painting pretty and elegant woman, like Baroness Van Houtte, Baroness Velge, Countess d'Oultremont, or Mrs. McHardy and the Lady with White Pearls. However, he also enjoyed painting men in uniform, especially Scottish uniforms or in men Clan dresses.

On the contrary, painting "head-to-waist" portraits (especially of boardroom executives) must have bored him terribly. These paintings seem to have been finished very quickly and – most probably – were a welcome addition to his daily bread. It seems that he paid more attention to the paintings of the aristocracy and to those of his own friends and family, than to the ordinary executive. Dobson had great trouble to put an element of fascination in these portraits.

Although Raeburn did not seem to have had the means to lead the high-life, he certainly did everything to approach himself as close to it as possible. In London this meant moving around in fashionable places to be amongst potential clientele. Even in Brussels the painter would move around in the upper classes. But, there he got himself a studio in a not so well-to-do are of the Belgian capital, at the Place des Barricades, above a 'bistro'.

When the jet-set did not want to take their way to the painter's studio, Raeburn had no reluctance to go and stay at the private homes and castles of his clients. He stayed an extensive time at Baron Velge's residence, with Mrs. Jadot, with Viscount Le Hardÿ de Beaulieu, with Baron Etienne della Faille d'Huysse and in Scotland with the Marquess of Huntly. And with many more sitters.

Raeburn did not get on very well with the art-establishment in Edinburgh. Although influenced by the 'Colourists', he refused to conform to the Modernist movement, while the politics of the Royal Academy made him rebel even more against this closed circle. Although he would stay faithful to traditional portraiture, he could not ignore this 'Colourist' Movement. One may note this Modernist influence of the 'Colourists' in his very colourful palette and contrasting colours. He must have been well informed about the philosophy and the work of this movement through a very good female friend in these circles.

His portraits are always faithful representations of the sitters. It is astonishing that after so many years, many of the portraits still resemble the sitters. But, sometimes he embellishes the sitter by adding some mannerist hands. Fascinated by hands (which is the most difficult part of a portrait), he always included some hands into a portrait (when possible). But, generally they do not represent the hands of the sitter. They are – especially with woman portraits – a mannerist way to add more grace and elegance to the sitter. Baroness Van Houtte's and Baroness Velge's hands are indeed stockier than the hands Raeburn painted, while the position of the hand of Countess de Liedekerke is anatomically quite impossible, as are the hands of Countess d'Oultremont. One notices the elongated fingers in the portraits of Baroness Van Houtte, Countess d'Oultremont and Countess de Liedekerke.

While Raeburn's production is amazing, not all of his paintings are of the same quality. He had great trouble with painting group portraits and the perspectives are not always correct. This may well be because Raeburn was never trained academically. But, in the end, Raeburn Dobson remains one of Edinburgh's best portrait painters of the middle of the twentieth century.

Index of portraits

Photographs of these portraits are to be found in the archives of the National Portrait Gallery, London.

The boys in question are Malcolm (b. 1940), Nigel (1941–1947) and Douglas (b. 1944) Walker. The portraits were painted in Spring 1947 at a house in Pembroke Mews (or Walk), Kensington High Street. They remain in private hands