Reverend Robert Walker (1755 - 1808) Skating on Duddingston Loch about 1795, by Sir Henry Raeburn. National Galleries of Scotland.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.
"C19th of a woman by Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823)", offered at auction on 9th December and sold for USD850.Like so many before, the name on the plaque suggested that this was a Raeburn, but the lack of provenance, and any obvious artistic similarity to his work rang the usual cautionary bells. The price paid, versus the estimate, reinforced the doubts I had.
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