The Waefu' Heart thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Paintings, Room 82, The Edwin and Susan Davies Galleries

The Waefu' Heart

Oil Painting
1841 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Duncan lived in Edinburgh and specialised in Scottish subjects. The title means 'the woeful heart' in Scots. It was exhibited with lines from a traditional ballad, ‘Auld Robin Gray’. After marrying a wealthy older man, the heroine of the tale was heartbroken when her long-lost lover returned.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Waefu' Heart (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
oil on panel
Brief description
Oil on panel entitled The Waefu' Heart (Lady Anne Lindsay, 'Auld Robin Gray') by Thomas Duncan. Great Britain, 1841.
Physical description
Oil on panel depicting a woman seated before a fireplace with a sheepdog. Signed and dated by the artist.
Dimensions
  • Estimate height: 77.4cm
  • Estimate width: 59.6cm
Dimensions taken from Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860, Ronald Parkinson, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1990
Style
Marks and inscriptions
'Thos Duncan Pinxt 1841' (Signed and dated by the artist in red, lower left)
Credit line
Given by John Sheepshanks, 1857
Object history
Given by John Sheepshanks, 1857
Production
dated 1841
Subjects depicted
Literary referenceThe title is suggested by a poem by Lady Anne Lindsay entitled 'Auld Robin Gray'.
Summary
Duncan lived in Edinburgh and specialised in Scottish subjects. The title means 'the woeful heart' in Scots. It was exhibited with lines from a traditional ballad, ‘Auld Robin Gray’. After marrying a wealthy older man, the heroine of the tale was heartbroken when her long-lost lover returned.
Bibliographic references
  • Parkinson, R., Victoria and Albert Museum, Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860, London: HMSO, 1990, pp. 72-73
  • Evans, Mark et al. Vikutoria & Arubāto Bijutsukan-zō : eikoku romanshugi kaigaten = The Romantic tradition in British painting, 1800-1950 : masterpieces from the Victoria and Albert Museum. Japan : Brain Trust, 2002
Collection
Accession number
FA.69[O]

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Record createdNovember 7, 2002
Record URL
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