Edinburgh Milkmaid with Butter Churn
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About this artwork
This is one of the earliest known portraits of a black woman by a Scottish artist. We do not know her name or her life story, but it is most likely that she was a servant. The large vessel, or butter churn, shown beside her suggests she may have been a milkmaid. An established portrait painter, David Allan became interested in drawing scenes of street life while working in Italy in the 1770s and continued after his return to Scotland in 1779. He made a series of drawings of Edinburgh’s street vendors, workers and city officials. These are often generalised depictions of these occupations, but this beautifully detailed watercolour is clearly a portrait of a specific person.
Updated 2021
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artist:David Allan (1744 - 1796) Scottish
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title:Edinburgh Milkmaid with Butter Churn
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date created:About 1785 - 1795
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materials:Watercolour on paper
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measurements:21.00 x 16.00 cm (image size); 25.00 x 30.80 cm (base material size)
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 2019
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accession number:D 5721
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gallery:
David Allan
David Allan
Allan was born in Alloa, on the River Forth, and attended the Foulis Academy in Glasgow for seven years. In 1767 he moved to Rome, where he lived for ten years; this was the most successful period of his life. In Rome, Allan painted ambitious historical pictures, portraits, caricatures and genre...