Lot 176: F. Burgess (British, early 19th century)

F. Burgess (British, early 19th century)
Portrait of a boy and a girl, said to be Robert and Erskine Christie of Durie, Fife, Scotland, with their dog in a landscape
signed and dated 'F. Burgess 1825' (lower right)
oil on canvas
34½ x 44 in. (87.6 x 111.8 cm.)
Painted in 1825.

Anonymous Sale, Christie's Glasgow, 13 November 1991, lot 564, where acquired by the present owner.

THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR

According to a label on the stretcher, the sitters in the present lot are Robert and Erskine Christie. Although the date of the present lot seems to match the date of birth of Robert Christie from Cupar, Fife, it does not seem to match with that of Erskine Christie, who was one of two children (both daughters) of James Christie of Durie, as she was already married by 1811. Robert Christie became a surgeon-major in the Indian army and died in 1870.