Lot 80: Kenneth Macleay, R.S.A. (Scottish, 1802-1878) A pair of portraits of Donald and Isabella Campbell of Sonachan: the former, wearing blue Eton suit, white chemise with frilled collar, blonde hair; the latter, wearing white dress with sky blue sash and

A pair of portraits of Donald and Isabella Campbell of Sonachan: the former, wearing blue Eton suit, white chemise with frilled collar, blonde hair; the latter, wearing white dress with sky blue sash and matching ribbons at her shoulders, she holds a sprig of holly in her left hand, blonde hair.
Gilt-metal frames.
Rectangular, 72mm (2 13/16in) high (2)

Donald was born in 1816 and Isabella in 1818. They were the children of Robert and Susan Campbell of Sonachan, located on the banks of Lochawe in Argyllshire. The Campbells were major land-owners in and around Oban. The entire county of Argyllshire was virtually owned by members of the Campbell families and clans, the head of them being the Duke of Argyll, whose ancestral home was just ten miles away at Inverary Castle.

Donald grew up to marry a daughter of Robert McPhee and is probably the widower Donald Campbell recorded in the Canadian census of 1881 as having been born in Scotland. He is recorded as a farmer with a daughter, Isabel, aged twenty-five and a son, Duncun, aged twenty-three. The same census shows a Scottish-born Isabel Campbell (b.1818) who was married to a Presbyterian minister. At the time of the census, they were living on Prince Edward Island with their son, also a farmer. During the early 19th century, Prince Edward Island became a fashionable retreat for the British nobility and was settled by many Scottish immigrants.

The Oban-born miniaturist, Kenneth Macleay married a Louisa Campbell of Aldenglass who is very likely to have been related to the sitters in the present lot.