Lady Maitland c. 1865

Henry Raeburn painted "Lady Maitland" sometime in the late 18th to early 19th century. Raeburn was a portraitist in Scotland during the enlightenment, a time that was marked by an embrace of reason. Here, Lady Maitland is seated outdoors, her simple white dress and shawl are a far cry from the elaborate aristocratic dress of previous eras. There’s a down-to-earth quality in the way Raeburn has painted her; she has a softness and vulnerability that feels real. The lack of ostentation and grandeur also seems to speak to the shifting social values of the time. The emerging middle class began to challenge the established order, and traditional markers of status were often downplayed in favor of more modest displays of wealth and power. Raeburn captures a sense of the person beyond their social standing. The gaze is open, as if to say, "I am here, I am present, I am more than my title." And in that simple act of seeing and being seen, perhaps there’s a quiet revolution taking place.