Image: Close-up detail of Burns’ face. ACBM 1985/100
In celebration of soon approaching Burns Night, let’s take a closer look at this peculiar portrait of Burns from our collection.
Dressed in an overtly Victorian crimson velvet picture frame with silk curtains, this portrait is not a drawing nor a print but is, in fact, a woven picture known as a stevengraph. Stevengraphs were invented by Thomas Stevens, a silk ribbon weaver from Coventry, in the 1860s. Similarly to weavers in Dunfermline, silk weavers in Coventry were going through hard times during that era. Due to the decline in the silk weaving industry and drapery trade, many of Coventry’s damask weavers had to diversify their production. Stevens’ invention was a result of that. By modifying his jacquard looms, he was able to create finely detailed, almost photographic images in silk. The technique became very popular - an inexpensive method for mass-producing mementos and souvenirs from bookmarks and portraits topostcards. Over the years, more than 50 weavers started manufacturing stevengraphs, producing more than 5,000 different designs.
Image: Close-up detail of the thistles. ACBM 1985/100
The image of Burns in our collection was produced and sold by Stevens during the International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art in Edinburgh in 1886.He obviously knew which images would appeal to his Scottish audiences! Although small in size (around 9.5cm/3.7 inches tall and 5cm/2 inches wide), the portrait is incredibly detailed. From shadows and contours on Burns’ face, and delicate lettering above it, to the textured, almost three-dimensional colourful bouquet of thistles below, Stevens demonstrated the versatility of his process.
Image: © Courtesy of HES. Illustration in The pictorial souvenir of the International Exhibition
This portrait was bought and presented as a wedding present to Andrew and Louise Carnegie by a mysterious R.A. This version, featuring a verse from Auld Lang Syne above the portrait, is very rare (presumably only sold at the Exhibition) while the two other versions of it were in wider circulation.
To find out more about Andrew Carnegie’s love for Robert Burns, read our past blog here.
Image: A note from R.A. on the back of the frame. ACBM 1985/100
