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Peter Howson OBE (British, born 1958) Robert Burns image 1
Peter Howson OBE (British, born 1958) Robert Burns image 2
Peter Howson OBE (British, born 1958) Robert Burns image 3
Lot 73AR

Peter Howson OBE
(British, born 1958)
Robert Burns

8 October 2025, 14:00 BST
Edinburgh

Sold for £1,536 inc. premium

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Peter Howson OBE (British, born 1958)

Robert Burns
signed and dated 'HOWSON 09' (lower left)
pastel
29 x 20cm (11 7/16 x 7 7/8in).

Footnotes

Exhibited
Glasgow, Mitchell Library, Inspired, 4 April - 20 September 2009.

Peter Howson's vision of Burns was first exhibited in the Inspired exhibition in Glasgow's Mitchell Library in 2009. An extended series of paintings and drawings, were displayed in the new Alloway museum, with an aim to delve into the true character of the flawed but beloved genius.

The portrait called simply Robert Burns was one of the central works in the exhibition. It is also the most formal, with a dark indistinct background which focuses our attention on the face. In other works, he depicted Burns doing battle with his demons. It seems that Howson was aiming to offer a kind of portrait of the artistic process, "one Ayrshire artist seen through the eyes of another".

Additional information