About this artwork
Kennedy was a member of a prominent Ayrshire legal dynasty which included his more successful son Thomas Francis Kennedy, fellow-advocate, Whig politician and probable patron of this portrait. In the background is the ruined Dunure Castle, the hereditary seat of the Kennedys on the Firth of Clyde. Thomas senior married Jean Adam. Her famous uncle, the architect Robert Adam, assisted Thomas Francis in designing a new country house at Dalquharran. The younger Kennedy also built the harbour at Dunure.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Sir Henry Raeburn (1756 - 1823) Scottish
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title:Thomas Kennedy of Dunure (died 1819)
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date created:About 1812
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materials:Oil on canvas
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measurements:127.30 x 101.90 cm; Framed: 147.70 x 122.50 x 9.50 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Presented by Elspeth Tullis, Lady Invernairn of Strathnairn; received after her death 1956
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accession number:NG 2181
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gallery:
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,...
