Portrait of Hugh Hope

Henry Raeburn’s ‘Portrait of Hugh Hope’ was completed around 1810. The work is an oil on canvas. It is held in the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Raeburn applied the paint in smooth, blended brushstrokes. The canvas shows a restrained palette, focusing on the sitter’s dignified expression.

Hugh Hope was a Scottish military officer. Details about how Raeburn came to paint his portrait remain unrecorded.

Raeburn was known for his portraits of the Scottish elite. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland.

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio https://clevelandart.org/art/1991.133