Reverend Robert Walker (1755 - 1808) Skating on Duddingston Loch
About this artwork
This serene skater is thought to be the Reverend Robert Walker, minister of the Canongate Kirk and a member of the Edinburgh Skating Society. The club - the oldest of its kind in Britain - usually met on the frozen lochs of Duddingston or Lochend on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Walker's pose, as he glides across the ice, looks effortless, but would have been recognised by fellow skaters as a difficult and sophisticated manoeuvre. This small picture, showing a figure in action, is quite unlike other known portraits by Raeburn. The painting is commonly known as The Skating Minister.
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Updated before 2020
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artist:Sir Henry Raeburn (1756 - 1823) Scottish
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title:Reverend Robert Walker (1755 - 1808) Skating on Duddingston Loch
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date created:About 1795
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materials:Oil on canvas
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measurements:76.20 x 63.50 cm; Framed: 94.10 x 81.70 x 11.00 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1949
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accession number:NG 2112
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gallery:
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depicted:
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subject:
Sir Henry Raeburn
Sir Henry Raeburn
Originally apprenticed to a goldsmith, Henry Raeburn showed enormous artistic talent as a young man. In 1784 he moved to London where he met the important portrait painter Joshua Reynolds. He spent some time in Italy but returned to Edinburgh in 1787 where he began painting portraits of the rich,...