Robert Gavin, RSA

(British, 1827-1883)

Rebekah giving water to Abraham's camels

Footnotes

Provenance
Private collection, USA.

Exhibited
Edinburgh, Royal Scottish Academy, 1878, no. 268.

Robert Gavin was born and educated in Leith, Scotland. The son of a merchant, he entered the School of Design in Edinburgh aged twenty-one and studied under Thomas Duncan.

Specialising initially in rustic subjects often featuring children, his work became increasing popular and was widely reproduced in chromolithography. Gavin was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Scottish Academy and also exhibited at the Royal Academy in London between 1855 and 1871; in 1854 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy.

In 1868 he travelled to America and on his return, he journeyed to Tangier where he settled and began to paint Orientalist works. His interest in Orientalist art was profound and indeed the subject he chose for his diploma work for the RSA was The Moorish Maiden's First Love, now in the National Gallery of Scotland. He returned to Scotland in 1880 and continued to paint until his death in 1883.

The present lot, exhibited at the RSA in 1878, is a wonderful example of the artist's work. Painted two years before he left Tangiers to return home, Rebekah is seen pouring water from a jar into a stone trough for the camels tired after their long journey with Abraham's steward. The model for Rebekah appears to be the same girl as Gavin used for The Nautch Girl (sold Bonhams, London, 3 June 2020, lot 71). This subject clearly resonated with him as he also painted a work entitled Rebekah at the Well which is now in the permanent collection at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.