Portrait of Hugh Hopec. 1810 · Study 1991.133

Context from the museum

Henry Raeburn created this likeness of fellow Edinburgh native Hugh Hope before Hope departed for India, where he worked as a civil servant for the renowned East India Company (a British joint-stock company founded in 1600 to trade in the Indian Ocean). This painting hung in the drawing room of Hope’s estate, Pinkie House in Scotland, until 1928. Although greatly influenced by his English predecessor Joshua Reynolds, Raeburn worked in a looser style, more like the work of his younger contemporary Thomas Lawrence. This portrait is painted directly on the canvas without any preliminary drawing, giving it an informal, spontaneous air.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

Sir Henry Raeburn was the portrait painter for King George IV of Scotland.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected unframed measurement for Portrait of Hugh Hope is 61 cm wide and 75 cm high, equivalent to approximately 24.0 × 29.5 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 0.81:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.46 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 20.3% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 119.5 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Portrait of Hugh Hope in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, oil on canvas, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this vertical composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 61 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?