John Opie's Portraits of Dr. Johnson

摘要

Introduction Samuel Johnson is one of the most painted individuals in English literary history. Given the advanced state of the scholarship, one assumes that all lifetime paintings of Johnson have been identified, cataloged, and discussed.1 We do not expect to stumble upon a new contemporary portrait of Johnson, let alone two different portraits, one by a then-unknown Lady Anne Lindsay (1750-1825),the eldest child of the fifth Earl of Balcarres, the other by the well-known portrait painter John Opie (1761-1807). The first is unknown; the second has been off the radar of both art historians and Johnson scholars. Lady Anne Lindsay's effort-a drawing in pencil and watercolor-was executed in November 1773, at the home of Sir Alexander Dick, the president of the Royal College of Physicians in Scotland and Lady Anne's great-uncle, at the end of Boswell and Johnsons Highland tour.2 The Opie "discovery" occurred in Fife during a visit to Balcarres House.