It is hoped that further research may reveal more about the connection between the artist and the young woman and shed some light on her identity.ĭirector of European and Scottish Art at the National Galleries of Scotland, Christopher Baker, commented: “We are so pleased to bring this remarkable, rare and extraordinary watercolour into Scotland’s national collection. The Edinburgh Milkmaid, however, is highly detailed, precisely painted and clearly a portrait of a specific person. These works, known as Allan’s ‘Edinburgh Characters’, suggest a background context for Edinburgh Milkmaid with Butter Churn, but they are generally sketched in a summary way, intended to capture character types, rather than specific personalities, and were often copied and duplicated. Modest in scale, the image is dated to the mid-1780s to early 1790s, a period when Allan created evocative drawings of ordinary people going about their daily lives in Edinburgh, such as soldiers, coalmen, fishwives, sedan chair porters, firemen and officers of the city guard. Her name and life story is unknown, but it is likely that she was a servant, a milkmaid, as suggested by the large vessel or butter churn shown beside her. Looking directly at the viewer, she is shown in working dress, going about her daily duties and set against the backdrop of an elegant Edinburgh street. It depicts a black woman alone and centre stage at a time when black sitters more often appeared as marginal or subservient figures in group portraits.
One of the earliest known images of a black person by a Scottish artist has been acquired by the National Galleries of Scotland.Įdinburgh Milkmaid with Butter Churn by David Allan (1744-1796) is a beautifully painted watercolour which is both exceptionally rare and striking.
National Galleries of Scotland acquire rare late eighteenth-century watercolour of a black woman by a Scottish painter