Sir James Campbell of Lawers Scottish Military Oil Portrait Attributed to William Aikman c.1720

Sir James Campbell of Lawers Scottish Military Oil Portrait Attributed to William Aikman c.1720

An important early Georgian Scottish military portrait attributed to William Aikman (1682–1731), depicting Sir James Campbell of Lawers and Rowallan, probably during his period as Colonel of the Scots Greys, with significant institutional and comparative evidence supporting the historical context of the attribution.

Highlights

• Attributed to William Aikman (1682–1731)

• Sir James Campbell of Lawers and Rowallan (d.1745)

• Probably circa 1720

• Proposed working dating range circa 1717–1723

• Early Georgian Scottish portraiture

• Oil on canvas

• Colonel of the Scots Greys from 1717

• Later Lieutenant-General

• Governor of Edinburgh Castle

• Knight of the Order of the Bath

• Distinguished at Dettingen in 1743

• Mortally wounded during the Fontenoy campaign in 1745

• Historic William Aikman frame plaque

• Apparent historic “Wm Aikman” attribution verso

• Sloane Street Auctions, London, 3 July 2024, Lot 183

• National Galleries of Scotland holds an accepted Aikman portrait of the same sitter

• Extensive documented Campbell patronage within Aikman's portrait practice

• Independent comparative portrait with provenance by descent from the sitter

• Historically relined

• Substantial later decorative gilt frame

Introduction

A commanding early Georgian Scottish portrait depicting Sir James Campbell of Lawers and Rowallan, one of the distinguished cavalry officers of his generation, and attributed to the celebrated Scottish portraitist William Aikman (1682–1731).

Campbell is shown half-length against a restrained dark background.

His brilliant scarlet military coat opens to reveal an elaborately decorated gold-toned waistcoat and crisp white neckcloth. A long curled wig frames his strongly modelled face, while his unusually direct gaze creates an immediate sense of authority and character.

The portrait is particularly compelling because subsequent research has established a significant historical framework around its longstanding Aikman attribution.

The National Galleries of Scotland holds an accepted portrait by William Aikman of Sir James Campbell himself, while further research demonstrates extensive Aikman patronage throughout the wider Campbell political and aristocratic circle.

Catalogue Details

Artist: Attributed to William Aikman (1682–1731)

Sitter: Sir James Campbell of Lawers and Rowallan (d.1745)

Title: Portrait of Sir James Campbell of Lawers and Rowallan

Date: Probably circa 1720

Proposed working range: circa 1717–1723

Period: Early Georgian

Origin: Scotland

Medium: Oil on canvas

Signed: Unsigned

Historic attribution evidence: Apparent “Wm Aikman” inscription verso and older frame plaque naming William Aikman

Canvas: approximately 76.2 × 64.8 cm

Framed: approximately 91.5 × 78.5 × 4.5 cm

Catalogue Note

The painting is catalogued Attributed to William Aikman (1682–1731).

The attribution is not a newly created dealer attribution.

Prior to its acquisition by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, the portrait was independently offered by Sloane Street Auctions, London, as:

Attributed to William Aikman (Scottish, 1682–1731), A portrait of Sir James Campbell (c.1680–1745).

The painting also retains an older frame plaque reading WILLIAM AIKMAN 1682–1731, together with an apparent “Wm Aikman” attribution verso.

Neither is represented as an autograph artist's signature.

They are instead important physical evidence demonstrating that the association with Aikman forms part of the painting's earlier attribution history.

The Sitter — Sir James Campbell of Lawers and Rowallan

Sir James Campbell belonged to the interconnected world of Scottish aristocracy, politics and professional soldiering.

A son of James Campbell, 2nd Earl of Loudoun, and Lady Margaret Montgomerie, Campbell pursued a distinguished military career spanning several decades.

He became closely associated with the Royal North British Dragoons — the Scots Greys.

Campbell distinguished himself during the War of the Spanish Succession and at Malplaquet.

In 1717, he became Colonel of the Scots Greys.

This appointment provides an important chronological context for the portrait.

If the painting was executed around 1720, Campbell is represented not as the later Lieutenant-General of Dettingen and Fontenoy, but during an earlier and important phase of his military career as Colonel of one of Britain's celebrated cavalry regiments.

The Scarlet Coat & Early Georgian Dress

The sitter's costume contributes significantly to the proposed dating.

Campbell wears a brilliant scarlet military coat opened over a richly decorated waistcoat and white neckcloth.

His full curled wig and overall presentation belong naturally within the visual vocabulary of early Georgian male portraiture.

The prominently exposed waistcoat and treatment of the coat are compatible with early-18th-century military portraiture.

Equally interesting is what is absent.

Campbell does not display the insignia of the Order of the Bath, an honour he did not receive until 1743.

This absence is entirely consistent with a portrait created considerably earlier in his career.

The costume therefore contributes to the proposed circa-1720 dating, while no claim is made that every element represents a precisely identifiable regulation uniform.

From the Scots Greys to Dettingen

Campbell's subsequent career was remarkable.

He rose through the senior ranks of the British Army and became Governor of Edinburgh Castle in 1738.

By the early 1740s he had attained the rank of Lieutenant-General.

At the Battle of Dettingen in 1743, Campbell commanded cavalry and distinguished himself against the French.

George II subsequently invested him with the Order of the Bath.

Campbell continued campaigning during the War of the Austrian Succession.

In 1745, during the operations surrounding the Battle of Fontenoy, he was struck by a French cannonball and mortally wounded.

The portrait therefore records a man whose subsequent career would become closely intertwined with some of the defining military events of Georgian Britain.

William Aikman — A Leading Scottish Portraitist

William Aikman was born in 1682 and became one of Scotland's most important portrait painters of the early Georgian period.

After beginning his career in Edinburgh, he travelled to London and subsequently through Italy and Turkey, broadening his artistic education.

He returned to Scotland around 1711–12 and rapidly established an important portrait practice among Scotland's political, military and aristocratic elite.

Aikman's patronage network is particularly relevant to the present painting.

Among his most significant supporters was John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll and Greenwich.

The relationship between Aikman and the Campbell circle was extensive rather than incidental.

Aikman eventually settled permanently in London in 1723 and continued his successful portrait practice until his death in 1731.

A National Galleries of Scotland Portrait of the Same Sitter

The most significant institutional comparison is held by the National Galleries of Scotland.

Its collection contains:

William Aikman (1682–1731)
Sir James Campbell of Lawers and Rowallan, 1667–1745. Soldier
After 1711
Oil on canvas
76.10 × 64.30 cm
Accession PG 1395.

This provides unequivocal institutional evidence that Sir James Campbell sat to William Aikman.

The National Galleries portrait and the present painting are distinct compositions and the existence of one cannot authenticate the other.

Nevertheless, it substantially strengthens the historical plausibility of an Aikman attribution for another portrait of the same sitter.

An Intriguing Dimensional Correspondence

The National Galleries painting measures approximately 76.1 × 64.3 cm.

The present canvas measures approximately 76.2 × 64.8 cm.

They therefore occupy essentially the same conventional half-length portrait format.

Approximately 30 × 25 inches was widely used within British portraiture and is encountered elsewhere within Aikman's oeuvre.

The dimensional correspondence therefore cannot establish authorship.

It does, however, confirm that the present work conforms closely to an appropriate Aikman portrait format.

William Aikman & Campbell Patronage

The Campbell connection extends beyond Sir James.

The National Portrait Gallery holds Aikman's circa-1720 portrait of John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll and Greenwich.

Its extended catalogue discusses Aikman's considerable production of portraits of Argyll and suggests that many were painted in Edinburgh between approximately 1712 and 1722, with versions associated with the Duke's political allies and kinsmen.

Aikman's surviving correspondence also demonstrates Argyll's continuing friendship and patronage.

Other documented portraits further demonstrate Aikman's activity among members of the Campbell family and its wider social circle.

This provides a historically credible patronage environment for the present attribution while stopping short of treating contextual evidence as proof of authorship.

Independent Portrait Evidence for Sir James Campbell

The sitter identification can also be considered against portraits independent of the Aikman tradition.

Christie's offered a portrait of Sir James Campbell of Lawers catalogued as Follower of Jean-Baptiste van Loo.

It depicts Campbell in armour and a red velvet fur-trimmed robe.

Most importantly, its recorded provenance begins:

By descent from the sitter.

The portrait had previously appeared at Sotheby's, London, on 8 April 1992, Lot 30.

This family-descended work provides valuable independent evidence for Campbell's portrait iconography.

A later portrait associated with Allan Ramsay and dated 1744 provides an additional likeness from the final phase of Campbell's life.

Dating & Attribution Assessment

Our current research suggests that circa 1720, with approximately 1717–1723 as a working range, provides a historically coherent dating for the portrait.

Campbell became Colonel of the Scots Greys in 1717.

Aikman was active in Scotland and within the Campbell patronage network during this period.

The National Portrait Gallery dates Aikman's Duke of Argyll to circa 1720 and discusses his Edinburgh Campbell portrait production between approximately 1712 and 1722.

Aikman permanently relocated to London in 1723.

The sitter's costume and absence of Campbell's later Order of the Bath insignia are likewise compatible with this chronology.

The dating nevertheless represents an informed historical, stylistic and costume assessment rather than a documented execution date.

A Note on Campbell's Birth Date

An unresolved discrepancy exists within published biographical sources.

The National Galleries of Scotland and Christie's identify Campbell as 1667–1745.

Other biographical and military sources have given a birth around 1680.

For this reason, our principal catalogue identification uses Sir James Campbell of Lawers and Rowallan (d.1745) rather than presenting a disputed birth year as definitive.

Auction History

Sloane Street Auctions, London, The Old Master Sale: Jewellery, Paintings, Furniture and Estate Contents, 3 July 2024, Lot 183.

Catalogued as:

Attributed to William Aikman (Scottish, 1682–1731), A portrait of Sir James Campbell (c.1680–1745).

Acquired from the above by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.

Provenance

Earlier provenance presently unrecorded.

Sloane Street Auctions, London, The Old Master Sale: Jewellery, Paintings, Furniture and Estate Contents, 3 July 2024, Lot 183.

Acquired from the above by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.

Ongoing Provenance Research

Research has identified surviving Campbell of Lawers family and estate papers covering Sir James Campbell's lifetime.

These archival records potentially offer future avenues for research into family commissions, pictures, household expenditure and estate inventories.

No documentary evidence has presently been discovered connecting this particular privately owned canvas directly with Lawers House, Rowallan, Loudoun or another Campbell family collection.

No such early family provenance is therefore claimed.

References & Comparative Research

National Galleries of Scotland — William Aikman, Sir James Campbell of Lawers and Rowallan, 1667–1745. Soldier, after 1711, oil on canvas, 76.10 × 64.30 cm, PG 1395.

National Portrait Gallery, London — William Aikman (1682–1731), biographical and collection records.

National Portrait Gallery, London — William Aikman, John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll and Greenwich, circa 1720, including extended catalogue discussion of Aikman's Campbell patronage.

Christie's — Portrait of Sir James Campbell of Lawers, Follower of Jean-Baptiste van Loo, with provenance recorded as by descent from the sitter.

Sloane Street Auctions, London — The Old Master Sale, 3 July 2024, Lot 183.

National Records of Scotland — Campbell of Lawers family and estate archival records identified during ongoing provenance research.

Dimensions

Canvas:

Approximately 76.2 cm high × 64.8 cm wide.

Framed:

Approximately 91.5 cm high × 78.5 cm wide × 4.5 cm deep.

Frame

The portrait is presented within a substantial decorative gilt frame which gives the work considerable period presence.

An older metal plaque attached to the frame reads:

WILLIAM AIKMAN
1682–1731

The frame is considered later than the painting and is not represented as its original early-18th-century frame.

It has undergone historic restoration and later overpainting and displays rubbing, cracking, scuffs, small losses and repairs consistent with age and use.

Condition Report

The painting remains in good age-appropriate condition.

The canvas has been historically relined.

Age-related craquelure is visible throughout the painted surface, together with areas of staining and historic surface variation.

Areas of historic retouching are present, including within the lower scarlet coat.

Stretcher-bar impressions are visible.

The later gilt frame has undergone restoration and overpainting and displays rubbing, scuffs, scratches, cracking, small losses and historic repairs commensurate with age and use.

Please study all photographs carefully as they form an integral part of the condition report.

Shipping

Worldwide shipping is available.

Owing to the substantial dimensions and weight of the framed portrait, it will be professionally packaged using appropriate protective materials and dispatched fully insured.

International buyers are welcome. Please contact us for a destination-specific delivery quotation or to discuss any particular shipping requirements.

Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution

The artwork will be supplied with a Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution issued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, recording the artwork’s catalogue details, attribution, provenance as stated, and details of the sale. This document accompanies the work as part of its ongoing ownership and provenance record.

Attribution and Research

The historical observations, provenance research, attribution analysis and contextual commentary presented within this catalogue entry represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®. They are offered in good faith as informed scholarly assessments based upon the available evidence, comparative research, published reference material and our experience within the international fine art market.

These observations should be understood as professional opinions rather than definitive statements of fact or guarantees of authorship, attribution, date, origin, provenance or historical interpretation. As with all historic works of art, future documentary discoveries, technical examination, conservation analysis or advances in academic research may refine, expand or revise current interpretations.

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