Portrait of Mrs. Andrew

Scottish painter Henry Raeburn painted this Portrait of Mrs. Andrew Hay around 1795, capturing the wife of Major General Andrew Hay with the sensitive handling that distinguished his portraits of women. Raeburn could be remarkably delicate when painting female subjects, and this work demonstrates the bold, vigorous technique sometimes called his "square touch."

Raeburn (1756-1823) was the first major Scottish painter to work largely in his own country, and his portraits create a visual record of a golden age of culture and society, particularly in Edinburgh. He painted directly on canvas without preliminary drawings, achieving effects of character and presence through confident brushwork.

The painting was commissioned by Major General Hay around 1795-1814 and descended through the family until it was sold at Christie's London in 1912. It passed through Duveen Brothers in New York and collector Edward T. Stotesbury before the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha acquired it in 1941. The portrait represents Raeburn's ability to combine aristocratic elegance with psychological depth.