The Binning Children

probably c. 1811

Sir Henry Raeburn

Artist, Scottish, 1756 - 1823

Two young boys sit side by side on some boulders with a cloudy sky behind them and dark tree branches above in this vertical portrait painting. The boys both have pale skin with flushed, round cheeks, short, light brown hair, and brown eyes. They wear matching russet-brown suits with rows of gold-colored buttons on their chests and white ruffles that pop out of their collars, white stockings, and black, laced up shoes. The boy on our right looks at us with his right hand on the other boy’s shoulder. That second boy sits on a lower rock and looks up at the first while draping one arm over the first boy’s lap. The second boy holds a plum-purple and powder-blue hat in one hand and a stick with a rope attached, perhaps a whip, in the other. Another hat lies on a boulder under the rope. A few crisp sage-green, deep yellow, and brown leaves have fallen to the ground at the boys' feet. The tree above and distant landscape beyond are loosely painted in hazy tones of yellow, smoky green, brown, and slate blue.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Given in memory of John Woodruff Simpson

  • Dimensions

    overall: 128.8 x 102.7 cm (50 11/16 x 40 7/16 in.)
    framed: 154.3 x 128.9 cm (60 3/4 x 50 3/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1942.5.2

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Painted for the sitters' father, David Monro Binning [1776-1843], Argaty and Softlaw, Perthshire, Scotland; by inheritance to the elder son in the picture, George Home Monro Binning Home [1804-1884], Argaty; by inheritance to his grand-nephew, Dr. George Home Monro-Home [b. 1865], Argaty; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 3 May 1902, no. 97); (Thos. Agnew & Sons, London);[1] sold 1902 to (M. Knoedler & Co., London);[2] purchased by John Woodruff Simpson [1850-1920], New York; by inheritance to his wife, Mrs. John W. Simpson [née Katherine Seney, d. 1943], New York; gift 1942 to NGA.
[1] See Colin Agnew's letter of 26 April 1965 to Marcia Early (in NGA curatorial files), and annotated copy of the sale catalogue in the Knoedler Library British Sales microfiche.
[2] M. Knoedler & Co. stock books, recorded by The Getty Provenance Index.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1811

  • Possibly Associated Society of Artists, Edinburgh, 1811, no. 187, as A Portrait of Two Boys.

1912

  • Loan Exhibition of Old Masters for the Benefit of the Artists' Fund and Artists' Aid Societies, M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1912, unnumbered catalogue, repro., as The Sons of David Monro Binning.

Bibliography

1901

  • Armstrong, Sir Walter. Sir Henry Raeburn. London, 1901: 96, repro. opp. 68.

1911

  • Greig, James. Sir Henry Raeburn, R.A.: His Life and His Works. London, 1911: 38.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 106.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 94, repro.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 278, repro.

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: no. 526, color repro.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 368, no.518, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 322, repro.

1992

  • Hayes, John. British Paintings of the Sixteenth through Nineteenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 204-205, repro. 204.

Wikidata ID

Q20183269

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