‘Legendary’ portrait of Burns goes on display in birthplace

By the Editorial Team · Wednesday, July 22, 2026

A previously lost 1803 portrait of Scottish poet Robert Burns by Henry Raeburn has been unveiled at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway, Ayrshire. The rediscovered painting, confirmed authentic after being found during a house clearance and acquired by scholar William Zachs, will remain on display until November 1, enhancing the museum’s extensive Burns collection.

A previously lost portrait of Scottish poet Robert Burns, painted by renowned artist Henry Raeburn, has gone on display at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway, Ayrshire. The unveiling took place yesterday, marking 230 years since Burns's death.

The portrait, missing for over two centuries, was rediscovered during a house clearance and subsequently sold at auction in 2025. It was acquired by William Zachs, director of the Blackie House Library and Museum in Edinburgh and a noted Burns scholar, who suspected it was an original Raeburn work. Experts later confirmed its authenticity.

Commissioned in 1803 by the publishers Cadell and Davies, Raeburn’s painting is based on an earlier 1787 portrait of Burns by Alexander Nasmyth, which is part of the collection at National Galleries Scotland. Raeburn’s interpretation is noted for its expressive brushwork, atmospheric lighting, and warm color palette, offering a more romanticized depiction compared to Nasmyth’s smaller original.

Philip Long, chief executive of the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), described the exhibition as a unique opportunity to showcase the rediscovered painting in Burns’s birthplace. “The Portrait of a Poet exhibition is a wonderful opportunity to see this long-lost painting of Scotland’s national poet, created by one of the nation’s most esteemed portraitists,” Long said. He also expressed gratitude toward William Zachs for his role in the discovery and to the Blackie House Library and Museum for lending the work.

Sarah Beattie, head of curatorial at NTS, highlighted the painting’s significance within the broader Burns collection held by the Trust. “We are so pleased that this special painting will temporarily join the 2,500 items in the largest collection of Burns artefacts and sit less than half a mile from the cottage where the poet was born,” Beattie said. She added that despite Burns’s brief life of 37 years, efforts continue to reveal the complexities of his biography and celebrate his enduring literary legacy.

The portrait will remain on view at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum until November 1 as part of the NTS’s Portrait of a Poet exhibition.

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