THOMAS HAZLEHURST
(c.1740-c.1821)Portrait Miniature of Robert Graham of Fintry (1745-1819), facing left, wearing blue coat, white waistcoat and cravat, his powdered wig worn 'en queue'
1793
Watercolour on ivory (licence EPKZW5YL)
Oval, 50mm high
Signed and dated ‘T.H / 93’, lower left
Gilt metal frame with hairwork reverse (featuring two different strands of hair)
£17,500
+44(0)7983510056
'The portrait belongs to a pivotal moment in the Burns-Fintry friendship when Fintry was helping the poet defend himself against charges of disloyalty, and when To Robert Graham of Fintry, Esq. appeared in the Second Edinburgh Edition.'
Sold with:
PATRICK JOHN MCMORELAND (1741 -
c.1809), Portrait miniature of a son of Robert Graham of Fintry, 1794
ANDREW PLIMER (1763–1837), Portrait miniature of a daughter of Robert Graham of Fintry, circa 1798
These three miniatures form a remarkable group of paintings, marking the life of Robert Graham of Fintry, friend and patron of Robert Burns (1759-1796). Until 2025, they have remained within the collection of the Fintry Family, whose lineage can be traced back to King Robert III. Also in the family’s collection were many Burns manuscripts, some of which are now housed in national collections. Since their conception, the miniatures have travelled to Cape Town, where Robert’s second son, John Graham (1778-1822), had moved, and they remained there until 1932. Until 1946, they were housed in Finsbury Circus, London. All three miniatures are painted by different artists; they were not intended as a set but have remained together since they were taken.
Robert Graham Fintry first met Burns at the end of the Summer of 1787. Robert had lived a large part of his life by this point, attending the University of St Andrews, inheriting the family estate, and marrying his second cousin, Margaret Elizabeth (‘Peggy’) Mylne of Mylnefield. The couple would go on to have five sons and eleven daughters, only two of whom are represented in this set of portrait miniatures. In the late 1780s, Graham was forced to sell his estate due to debts. However, in 1787, he was appointed ‘His Majesty’s Commissioner for the Receipt and Management of His Majesty’s Revenues of Excise in Scotland’.
In a coincidence that would define the career of Burns, Fintry and the Poet came across each other at Blair Castle – the ancestral seat of John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl. At this time, Burns had embarked upon a tour of the highlands, partly for inspiration, and partly to obtain further patronage. We do not know what Fintry first thought of Burns, though we do know, from a letter that Burns wrote after the introduction, that he thought Fintry a man who appreciated “the charms of conversation.”[1]. From sources, it seems that their relationship was not built on patronage from Fintry and acceptance by Burns, but on respect and common interests. In 1788 Burns called him “one of the worthiest and most accomplished gentlemen, not only of this country, but, I will dare to say, of this age”[2]. Communication between the two is recorded in letters, and Burns wrote numerous poems dedicated to Fintry,, including To Robert Graham, Esq., of Fintry, with a request for an Excise Division (1788), Epistle to Robert Graham of Fintry on the Election for the Dumfries String of Boroughs (1790), and To Robert Graham of Fintry, Esq. (1791).
The first, exquisite, finely finished portrait of Robert Graham of Fintry is signed with the crisp Roman initials “T·H” and dated at the lower left. It was painted in 1793 by the Liverpool-based miniaturist Thomas Hazelhurst (c.1740–c.1821), then working from 9 Rodney Street.[3] The portrait belongs to a pivotal moment in the Burns-Fintry friendship when Fintry was helping the poet defend himself against charges of disloyalty, and when To Robert Graham of Fintry, Esq. appeared in the Second Edinburgh Edition. It was also the year Fintry received payment for disseminating pro–William Pitt propaganda, and his son John had just been commissioned as an Ensign in the 85th Regiment of Foot.[4] The miniature displays several hallmarks of Hazelhurst’s hand, including the bluish shading of the face and the subtle halo of lighter background framing the sitter.[5] Looked at closely, this portrait is astonishing in the way it combines the many facets of Fintry’s personality. He appears as a man of the Establishment, wearing a powdered wig en queue and a dark blue coat. Yet he is shown facing left, a pose that softens formality and offers the viewer a glimpse of a more expressive, emotional temperament.[6] This impression is heightened by the delicate white highlights on the eyes, which animate the sitter with lifelike immediacy and suggest the innate goodness Burns had so recently proclaimed to the world. Moreover, his white cravat, tied in the fashion of a blooming flower, may be read as symbolic of intellectual refinement, openness of character, and emotional sensitivity – all qualities we have pointed out in this article.
The second miniature is almost certainly a portrait of Robert (1775–1799), Fintry’s eldest son. Painted in 1794 by Patrick John McMorland (1741–c.1809), the work depicts the young sitter in a navy coat and white cravat, his powdered hair worn loose and flowing, set against a blue-sky background with foliage to the left. Although McMorland’s style exhibited considerable range, the handling of this piece closely recalls two gentlemen’s miniatures he produced in the mid- to late 1790s during his Manchester period, suggesting a consistent approach to male portraiture in these years.[7] The miniature bears on its verso two interlaced initials, ‘RG’ and ‘DG’. The slightly smaller ‘DG’ may plausibly refer to David Graham, a younger brother of the sitter, who was only nine years old when Robert departed for India and to whom the miniature may have been entrusted as a personal token. The miniature was very likely conceived as a parting gift, commissioned on the occasion of Robert’s appointment to the East India Company as Second Assistant Register at the Provincial Court of Appeal and Court of Circuit in the Province of Benares.[8] His promising career was cut tragically short: Robert was killed in the Massacre of Benares, murdered on the orders of the ex-Nawab of Awadh, Wazir Ali Khan, in retaliation against the British Bengal Establishment.[9] Among the few personal possessions he carried to India was “A Portrait Miniature Set in Gold,” evidently preserved as a cherished keepsake from the Fintry household.[10]
The third miniature is a finely executed and delicately observed portrait of one of Robert Graham’s elder daughters, most probably Anne. Painted around 1798 by Andrew Plimer (1763–1837), it dates from the period when Plimer, formerly apprenticed to Richard Cosway, had established his own successful practice in fashionable Golden Square, London. It was in these years, more than two decades before his later tours of Scotland, that he produced the portrait of ‘Miss Graham’. The work displays several hallmarks of Plimer’s mature manner. Most notable is the characteristic cross-hatching visible in the background on either side of the sitter, a technique through which he created depth and tonal nuance by means of fine, intersecting strokes. The absence of a signature is consistent with Plimer’s so-called “second phase” (after 1789), when he frequently left his miniatures unsigned.[11] The qualities singled out by George C. Williamson as emblematic of Plimer’s style – his distinctive handling of hair and the luminous brilliance of the eye – are both clearly present here.[12] It is striking that the locks of auburn hair set into the reverse of the miniature match the sitter’s hair precisely, suggesting not only that the portrait has retained its original vividness, but also that the material fragment reinforces the miniature’s claim to authenticity and intimacy. In a similarly delicate way, Anne Graham was the recipient of Burns’s To Miss Graham of Fintry, a formal sonnet composed in Dumfries in January 1794.[13] Burns later sent her a copy of A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs, inscribing it with the opening line of the poem: “Here, where the Scottish Muse immortal lives.” In his final letter to Fintry, Burns explained that this gift to Anne was intended as a gesture of gratitude to his patron and the Graham family.[14]
Together, the miniatures form a historically significant group of portraits, which help demonstrate the varied nature of Fintry’s artistic patronage. Whilst Fintry is best known for his patronage of Burns, he has also been involved in the patronage of three miniature artists to have these portraits painted. Furthermore, the re-emergence of these items of Burnsiania adds a fresh insight into the relationship between the poet and Fintry, and the influence that both figures had on each other’s legacies.
[1] Letter to Josiah Walker, 5 September 1787. Maurice Lindsay (1970). The Burns Encyclopedia. London: Hutchinson, p.149.
[2] Letter to Mrs Dunlop, 10 December 1788
[3] Daphne Foskett (1963) British Portrait Miniatures. London: Methuen, p. 146.
[4] Heinz Archives, Notes on Collections, ‘Graham of Fintry’, p. 2.
[5] Daphne Foskett (1963) British Portrait Miniatures. London: Methuen, p. 146; and Daphne Foskett (1972) A Dictionary of British Miniature Painters, vol. I. London: Faber & Faber, p. 319.
[6] Annukka K. Lindell (2025). ‘Turning the other cheek: Portraits of doctors and scientists don’t show a left-cheek bias’ in BCMJ, vol. 67, No. 2, available at: https://bcmj.org/articles/turning-other-cheek-portraits-doctors-and-scientists-dont-show-left-cheek-bias#:~:text=Research%20confirms%20that%20left%2Dcheek,judged%20to%20be%20more%20scientific.
[7] Heinz Archives, British Miniaturists 1775-1800 box, Patrick John McMorland file. See also Basil S. Long (1929). British Miniaturists. London: Geoffrey Bles, p. 285.
[8] Calcutta Gazette, 23 July 1795, p. 1.
[9] As a consequence of his unprincely behaviour, the British deposed Wazir Ali Khan (1780-1817) as Nawab of Awadh. Robert Graham was instructed to investigate the pretensions of the riextendedval princes. When Wazir was replaced by Saadat Ali Khan II and asked to move to Calcutta, he organised a bloody insurrection and killed five officials, including Robert. Belfast News-Letter, 16 July 1799, p. 4.
[10] British Library, British India Office Inventories and Accounts of Deceased Estate (available in FindMyPast).
[11] Daphne Foskett (1972) A Dictionary of British Miniature Painters, vol. I. London: Faber & Faber, pp. 450-51.
[12] George C. Williamson (1897). Portrait Miniatures from the Time of Holbein 1531 to that of Sir William Ross 1860. A Handbook for Collectors. London: George Bell, p. 76.
[13] The Canongate Burns, pp. 809-10.
[14] The Complete Letters of Robert Burns, p. 440.
PATRICK JOHN MCMORELAND (1741 -
c.1809), Portrait miniature of a son of Robert Graham of Fintry, 1794
ANDREW PLIMER (1763–1837), Portrait miniature of a daughter of Robert Graham of Fintry, circa 1798
These three miniatures form a remarkable group of paintings, marking the life of Robert Graham of Fintry, friend and patron of Robert Burns (1759-1796). Until 2025, they have remained within the collection of the Fintry Family, whose lineage can be traced back to King Robert III. Also in the family’s collection were many Burns manuscripts, some of which are now housed in national collections. Since their conception, the miniatures have travelled to Cape Town, where Robert’s second son, John Graham (1778-1822), had moved, and they remained there until 1932. Until 1946, they were housed in Finsbury Circus, London. All three miniatures are painted by different artists; they were not intended as a set but have remained together since they were taken.
Robert Graham Fintry first met Burns at the end of the Summer of 1787. Robert had lived a large part of his life by this point, attending the University of St Andrews, inheriting the family estate, and marrying his second cousin, Margaret Elizabeth (‘Peggy’) Mylne of Mylnefield. The couple would go on to have five sons and eleven daughters, only two of whom are represented in this set of portrait miniatures. In the late 1780s, Graham was forced to sell his estate due to debts. However, in 1787, he was appointed ‘His Majesty’s Commissioner for the Receipt and Management of His Majesty’s Revenues of Excise in Scotland’.
In a coincidence that would define the career of Burns, Fintry and the Poet came across each other at Blair Castle – the ancestral seat of John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl. At this time, Burns had embarked upon a tour of the highlands, partly for inspiration, and partly to obtain further patronage. We do not know what Fintry first thought of Burns, though we do know, from a letter that Burns wrote after the introduction, that he thought Fintry a man who appreciated “the charms of conversation.”[1]. From sources, it seems that their relationship was not built on patronage from Fintry and acceptance by Burns, but on respect and common interests. In 1788 Burns called him “one of the worthiest and most accomplished gentlemen, not only of this country, but, I will dare to say, of this age”[2]. Communication between the two is recorded in letters, and Burns wrote numerous poems dedicated to Fintry,, including To Robert Graham, Esq., of Fintry, with a request for an Excise Division (1788), Epistle to Robert Graham of Fintry on the Election for the Dumfries String of Boroughs (1790), and To Robert Graham of Fintry, Esq. (1791).
The first, exquisite, finely finished portrait of Robert Graham of Fintry is signed with the crisp Roman initials “T·H” and dated at the lower left. It was painted in 1793 by the Liverpool-based miniaturist Thomas Hazelhurst (c.1740–c.1821), then working from 9 Rodney Street.[3] The portrait belongs to a pivotal moment in the Burns-Fintry friendship when Fintry was helping the poet defend himself against charges of disloyalty, and when To Robert Graham of Fintry, Esq. appeared in the Second Edinburgh Edition. It was also the year Fintry received payment for disseminating pro–William Pitt propaganda, and his son John had just been commissioned as an Ensign in the 85th Regiment of Foot.[4] The miniature displays several hallmarks of Hazelhurst’s hand, including the bluish shading of the face and the subtle halo of lighter background framing the sitter.[5] Looked at closely, this portrait is astonishing in the way it combines the many facets of Fintry’s personality. He appears as a man of the Establishment, wearing a powdered wig en queue and a dark blue coat. Yet he is shown facing left, a pose that softens formality and offers the viewer a glimpse of a more expressive, emotional temperament.[6] This impression is heightened by the delicate white highlights on the eyes, which animate the sitter with lifelike immediacy and suggest the innate goodness Burns had so recently proclaimed to the world. Moreover, his white cravat, tied in the fashion of a blooming flower, may be read as symbolic of intellectual refinement, openness of character, and emotional sensitivity – all qualities we have pointed out in this article.
The second miniature is almost certainly a portrait of Robert (1775–1799), Fintry’s eldest son. Painted in 1794 by Patrick John McMorland (1741–c.1809), the work depicts the young sitter in a navy coat and white cravat, his powdered hair worn loose and flowing, set against a blue-sky background with foliage to the left. Although McMorland’s style exhibited considerable range, the handling of this piece closely recalls two gentlemen’s miniatures he produced in the mid- to late 1790s during his Manchester period, suggesting a consistent approach to male portraiture in these years.[7] The miniature bears on its verso two interlaced initials, ‘RG’ and ‘DG’. The slightly smaller ‘DG’ may plausibly refer to David Graham, a younger brother of the sitter, who was only nine years old when Robert departed for India and to whom the miniature may have been entrusted as a personal token. The miniature was very likely conceived as a parting gift, commissioned on the occasion of Robert’s appointment to the East India Company as Second Assistant Register at the Provincial Court of Appeal and Court of Circuit in the Province of Benares.[8] His promising career was cut tragically short: Robert was killed in the Massacre of Benares, murdered on the orders of the ex-Nawab of Awadh, Wazir Ali Khan, in retaliation against the British Bengal Establishment.[9] Among the few personal possessions he carried to India was “A Portrait Miniature Set in Gold,” evidently preserved as a cherished keepsake from the Fintry household.[10]
The third miniature is a finely executed and delicately observed portrait of one of Robert Graham’s elder daughters, most probably Anne. Painted around 1798 by Andrew Plimer (1763–1837), it dates from the period when Plimer, formerly apprenticed to Richard Cosway, had established his own successful practice in fashionable Golden Square, London. It was in these years, more than two decades before his later tours of Scotland, that he produced the portrait of ‘Miss Graham’. The work displays several hallmarks of Plimer’s mature manner. Most notable is the characteristic cross-hatching visible in the background on either side of the sitter, a technique through which he created depth and tonal nuance by means of fine, intersecting strokes. The absence of a signature is consistent with Plimer’s so-called “second phase” (after 1789), when he frequently left his miniatures unsigned.[11] The qualities singled out by George C. Williamson as emblematic of Plimer’s style – his distinctive handling of hair and the luminous brilliance of the eye – are both clearly present here.[12] It is striking that the locks of auburn hair set into the reverse of the miniature match the sitter’s hair precisely, suggesting not only that the portrait has retained its original vividness, but also that the material fragment reinforces the miniature’s claim to authenticity and intimacy. In a similarly delicate way, Anne Graham was the recipient of Burns’s To Miss Graham of Fintry, a formal sonnet composed in Dumfries in January 1794.[13] Burns later sent her a copy of A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs, inscribing it with the opening line of the poem: “Here, where the Scottish Muse immortal lives.” In his final letter to Fintry, Burns explained that this gift to Anne was intended as a gesture of gratitude to his patron and the Graham family.[14]
Together, the miniatures form a historically significant group of portraits, which help demonstrate the varied nature of Fintry’s artistic patronage. Whilst Fintry is best known for his patronage of Burns, he has also been involved in the patronage of three miniature artists to have these portraits painted. Furthermore, the re-emergence of these items of Burnsiania adds a fresh insight into the relationship between the poet and Fintry, and the influence that both figures had on each other’s legacies.
[1] Letter to Josiah Walker, 5 September 1787. Maurice Lindsay (1970). The Burns Encyclopedia. London: Hutchinson, p.149.
[2] Letter to Mrs Dunlop, 10 December 1788
[3] Daphne Foskett (1963) British Portrait Miniatures. London: Methuen, p. 146.
[4] Heinz Archives, Notes on Collections, ‘Graham of Fintry’, p. 2.
[5] Daphne Foskett (1963) British Portrait Miniatures. London: Methuen, p. 146; and Daphne Foskett (1972) A Dictionary of British Miniature Painters, vol. I. London: Faber & Faber, p. 319.
[6] Annukka K. Lindell (2025). ‘Turning the other cheek: Portraits of doctors and scientists don’t show a left-cheek bias’ in BCMJ, vol. 67, No. 2, available at: https://bcmj.org/articles/turning-other-cheek-portraits-doctors-and-scientists-dont-show-left-cheek-bias#:~:text=Research%20confirms%20that%20left%2Dcheek,judged%20to%20be%20more%20scientific.
[7] Heinz Archives, British Miniaturists 1775-1800 box, Patrick John McMorland file. See also Basil S. Long (1929). British Miniaturists. London: Geoffrey Bles, p. 285.
[8] Calcutta Gazette, 23 July 1795, p. 1.
[9] As a consequence of his unprincely behaviour, the British deposed Wazir Ali Khan (1780-1817) as Nawab of Awadh. Robert Graham was instructed to investigate the pretensions of the riextendedval princes. When Wazir was replaced by Saadat Ali Khan II and asked to move to Calcutta, he organised a bloody insurrection and killed five officials, including Robert. Belfast News-Letter, 16 July 1799, p. 4.
[10] British Library, British India Office Inventories and Accounts of Deceased Estate (available in FindMyPast).
[11] Daphne Foskett (1972) A Dictionary of British Miniature Painters, vol. I. London: Faber & Faber, pp. 450-51.
[12] George C. Williamson (1897). Portrait Miniatures from the Time of Holbein 1531 to that of Sir William Ross 1860. A Handbook for Collectors. London: George Bell, p. 76.
[13] The Canongate Burns, pp. 809-10.
[14] The Complete Letters of Robert Burns, p. 440.
Robert Graham, 12th of Fintry;
Thence by descent, until 2025.
Thence by descent, until 2025.
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