Henry Robert Robertson Art

A British oil on board Pre-Raphaelite painting of a mother and child in a coastal scene by Henry Robert Robertson. The work is signed bottom left and is presented in a fine period gilt frame. There is evidence of a museum label on the gilt mount and to the sides of the frame are secure mounts to suggest it has been shown in a museum. To the rear of the painted panel there is a trade label, unfortunately not fully decipherable, as over the top of that is another label with dedication to 'Annie Miller Robertson on her birthday 29th May 1863.' On the top of the frame and stretcher there is also a written reference to the collection of a Mrs Parsons (Alice) in Washington, USA. A charming jewel like painting of the type of romantic scene made famous by the Pre-Raphaelites. The artist has captured the beauty of the mother, her golden flowing hair and rustic shawl and dress, the child in a more luxurious fine red outfit. The sea in the distance as she walks along the shore. The gaze of both subjects locked on the artist and in turn us the viewer. Henry Robert Robertson, RE, RMS was born in Windsor in 1839 and illustrated a book called "Life in the Upper Thames" in 1875. He was also known as a figure and portrait painter. He exhibited widely, including the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of painters, etchers and engravers. The label to the back of the painting is very interesting, could it refer to Annie Miller a British woman who modelled for many paintings of the artists of the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood in the Victorian Era. Annie Miller (1835–1925) was an English artists' model who, among others, sat for the members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Everett Millais. The forward facing portrait by William Hunt and the sketch by Dante Rossetti...