A Bit More Family Art

Having established that I have no idea who the woman in my painting is, and no information at hand that might help me work out who she is, I asked my father if he had any clues. He says not, but still though she might be his grandmother. I can say for sure she isn't, the date of 1896 means it was painted when she would have been between 14 and 15 years old, which was before she had met her future husband. Also hair and eyes are the wrong colour, she's much blonder in every other painting I've seen of her. 

It's an intriguing mystery that I'd love to solve. My unknown lady was in the house I grew up in, in Shetland, which had belonged to my great great uncle (I'll call him by his initials - H.F.A). He bought it in the late 1880's essentially for summer holidays and family gatherings. The back of my picture has a rough seascape in it, and the panel doesn't look like it had much done in the way of priming or preparation which makes me think it was painted on one of those family holidays. So. Not a wife, not a sister, but someone close enough to go all the way to Shetland for a visit, and for lifelong bachelor H.F.A to keep a portrait of... 

Meanwhile I've got some very bad photographs of pictures of the two brothers painted by Francis Swithin Anderton (F.S.A) which from memory both date from around 1900 which were also in the house. Next time I see them I must get better photos. I particularly like both of these for different reasons.

First up is H.F.A painted by his brother as the respectable business man, JP, and general pillar of the community that he was. It strikes me as an affectionate portrait as well as one that wouldn't have looked out of place on a board room wall, and though you wouldn't know it from this picture, it's a really nice bit of painting. The phot below shows him again, the giant bird and a clear struggle not to giggle make him look like rather more fun.

And then there's this beauty - it's how F.S.A chose to show himself... 

In life the colours are even more vivid, the suit (which looks like it's velvet) a deep wine colour, and the overall impression is of a man fresh from a debate with Oscar Wilde on the correct shade of carnation one could wear with such an outfit. There are discernible pentimenti so he obviously went to quite some trouble over this self portrait. The two pictures are also the same size with matching frames, and clearly meant to hang as a pair. The photo below (almost certainly not a mug shot) is him again. I really want to know him better.