A Portrait of Unparalleled Sensibility, by Sir Henry Raeburn

Romanticism and realism collide in this outstanding work by Sir Henry Raeburn. It depicts the young Sarah Wordsworth around the time of her marriage and remained in the family’s possession until as recently as 1980. Painted towards the end of his career this portrait perfectly speaks the words of Scottish writer John Brown, who said of Raeburn: ‘He paints the truth, and he paints it with love.’

Sir Henry Raeburn
Portrait of Sarah Wordsworth, later Mrs Robert Hartshorn Barber (1797 – 1873), c. 1820
Oil on canvas