William Denune

Anne Smith, Mrs Thomas Ruddiman, fl. 1729 - 1769. Third wife of Thomas Ruddiman

About this artwork

Twenty years after their marriage the Ruddimans sat for their portraits to William Denune in Edinburgh. Mrs Ruddiman was the third wife of the classical scholar and publisher, Thomas Ruddiman, and carried on her husband's business after his death. She sued a competitor who threatened to infringe her copyright on her late husband's best-seller 'The Rudiments of the Latin Tongue'. Smartly but modestly dressed, this middle-class sitter was described as ' a woman of fine aspect, elegant manners, and amiable disposition'.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
    William Denune (1715 - 1750) Scottish
  • title:
    Anne Smith, Mrs Thomas Ruddiman, fl. 1729 - 1769. Third wife of Thomas Ruddiman
  • date created:
    1749
  • materials:
    Oil on canvas
  • measurements:
    76.20 x 63.70 cm; Framed: 97.00 x 84.00 x 5.30 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Presented by Miss S. Steuart 1962
  • accession number:
    PG 2012
  • gallery:
  • depicted:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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William Denune

William Denune