Painted around 1809, with label on back and a 1961 letter referring to information on the painting, well listed artist born 1756, died 1823, the portrait is of a fellow artist that specialized in miniatures, possibly friend Mr. Raeburn, on canvas, image area 23" X 24" plus gold frame, from the estate of Terry Ruscin, Hendersonville, NC..........Sir Henry Raeburn was born on March 4, 1756 in Stockbridge, Scotland near Edinburgh. He was a Scottish miller's son whose idealized aristocrats, always gentle and charming, seem to pose in perpetual twilight. He began his career as a miniaturist. In 1778, after marrying into comfortable circumstances, he visited London where he met Reynolds.In 1785 he went to Italy, where he remained for two years. On his return to Edinburgh he became the most important Scottish painter of the century, his career in many ways paralleling that of Reynolds.In 1811 he was elected President of the Royal Society of Artists and in 1815, a RoyalAcademician. He was knighted by George IV in 1822, when the sovereign was visiting Scotland.Art was a business to this most distinguished of Scotch painters, and from 9 AM to5:30 PM it kept him regularly in his studio, where he painted a succession of threeto four sitters a day. He painted directly on canvas without preliminary sketches,achieving a kind of spontaneity. When he left his easel, it was to speculate inreal estate or to play golf. Raeburn died in Edinburgh on July 8, 1823.Written and submitted by Jean Ershler Schatz, artist and researcher from Laguna Woods, California.Sources include:Masterpieces of Art, Catalogue of the New York World's Fair 1940.