Lost Robert Burns portrait found after 200 years

A portrait of Robert Burns by Sir Henry Raeburn, commissioned in 1803 for publishers Cadell and Davies and long missing, has been reported as rediscovered after about 200 years.

A portrait of Robert Burns by Sir Henry Raeburn has been reported as rediscovered after about 200 years. The work was commissioned in 1803 by publishers Cadell and Davies to be used as an engraving in future editions of Burns's works. They paid 20 guineas for the commission. The painting was delivered a year later but was not used as planned and subsequently disappeared, creating a long-running mystery. Known details: - Sir Henry Raeburn was commissioned in 1803 to paint Robert Burns. - Publishers Cadell and Davies paid 20 guineas for the painting and intended it for an engraving. - Robert Burns had previously sat only for Alexander Nasmyth in 1787, and that image became the template for many later likenesses. - The Raeburn portrait was reportedly delivered in 1804 but was not used and later vanished. - The painting has been reported as rediscovered after about 200 years. - Burns scholar Dr Bill Zachs noted that Arthur Conan Doyle once recounted a séance in which collector Edward Barrington Nash tried to locate the missing portrait through a medium. Summary: The reported rediscovery adds a new chapter to the painting's provenance and to the cultural history of Burns imagery. Undetermined at this time.