Lot 8: Sir William Allan (British, 1782-1850)

A Circassian chief preparing his stallion
signed, inscribed and dated 'Wll.m Allan Rome 1843' (lower right)
oil on canvas
30 1/4 x 25 1/2 in. (77 x 64.5 cm.)
Painted in 1843.

with Stair Sainty Matthiesen Inc., New York.

The artist began attended the Trustees' Academy in Edinburgh along with Sir David Wilkie, John Burnet and Alexander Fraser, before finally enrolling at the Royal Academy Schools in London.

In 1805, Allan travelled to Russia, spending several years in the Ukraine and travelling to Turkey and Tartary. He returned to Edinburgh in 1814, exhibiting Circassian scenes such as Circassian Captives. He was also inspired to paint scenes of Scottish history from Sir Walter Scott's novels, encouraged personally by the novelist.

Allan regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1803-49, becoming a full member in 1835, and was elected the second President of the Scottish Royal Academy in 1838 for thirteen years. In 1841, he succeeded David Wilkie as Scotland's painter to the Queen, and a knighthood followed in 1843. The present work, painted that same year, heralded a return for the artist to Orientalist subject matter. It was typical for Circassian chieftans on the Black Sea to ride a particular breed of white stallion, as depicted here before a dramatic mountainscape.

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