Julia Janet Georgiana Abercromby, Baroness Abercromby (née Haldane-Duncan; 24 January 1840 – 8 December 1915) was a British courtier, noblewoman, and artist.

Life

The Hon. Julia Janet Georgiana Haldane-Duncan was born on 24 January 1840 in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. Her father was Adam Haldane-Duncan, Viscount Duncan, subsequently

Earl of Camperdown Earl of Camperdown, of Lundie in the County of Forfar and of Gleneagles in the County of Perth, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1831 for Robert Haldane-Duncan, 2nd Viscount Duncan. He was the son of the note ...

, and her mother was Juliana Cavendish Philips, daughter of Sir George Richard Philips, Bt. On 6 October 1858, she married George, 4th Baron Abercromby. Lady Abercromby was a

Lady of the Bedchamber Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. They are ranked between the Mis ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

from April 1874 until March 1885. For her service to the Queen she was awarded The

Royal Order of Victoria and Albert The Royal Order of Victoria and Albert is a British Royal Family Order instituted on 10 February 1862 by Queen Victoria, and enlarged on 10 October 1864, 15 November 1865, and 15 March 1880. No award has been made since the death of Queen V ...

, Third Class. Whilst she was a lady-in-waiting she had the honour of painting the first official portrait of the Queen for the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

. The gallery had requested paintings in 1867 of the Queen and her consort,

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Albert I of Belgium ...

. A portrait of Albert was sent almost immediately but it was not until 1883 that Abercromby's portrait of the Queen was sent. The picture was created in watercolour and was actually based on an original work by

Heinrich von Angeli Heinrich Anton von Angeli (July 8, 1840, – October 21, 1925) was an Austrian historian and portrait painter. Life The Angeli family was originally from Venice and was ennobled by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, Maxim ...

. The Queen's preference for this portrait is said to be because it does not emphasise the Queen's regalia but the woman behind the power. Lady Abercromby read ''

A Princess of Thule A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...

'' by

William Black William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

to Queen Victoria in Autumn 1874. The queen commissioned a watercolor of the protagonist Sheila Mackenzie. The image was published by consent of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

for the first time in ''

The Maid of Arran ''The Maid of Arran, An Idyllic Irish Drama Written for the People, Irrespective of Caste or Nationality'' is an 1882 musical play by L. Frank Baum, writing and performing under the pseudonym, "Louis F. Baum", based on the novel ''A Princess of ...

'' by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

, edited by Marcus D. Mébes.

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...

: Pumpernickel Pickle, 2021, page 156. She exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

in 1898. Her portrait on

Benjamin Jowett Benjamin Jowett (, modern variant ; 15 April 1817 – 1 October 1893) was an English tutor and administrative reformer in the University of Oxford, a theologian, an Anglican cleric, and a translator of Plato and Thucydides. He was Master of Bal ...

was thought to very close to life and the letters from Jowett indicate a close friendship, although Jowett was a friend of her brother

Robert Haldane-Duncan, 3rd Earl of Camperdown Robert Adam Philips Haldane Haldane-Duncan, 3rd Earl of Camperdown (28 May 1841 – 5 June 1918), styled Viscount Duncan from 1859 to 1867, was a British Liberal politician. Biography Camperdown was the eldest son of Adam Haldane-Duncan, 2nd Earl ...

. Lady Abercromby died on 8 December 1915 leaving a widower but no children.

Legacy

Abercromby has paintings in British national collections including the

,National Portrait Gallery: Lady Julia Abercromby
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Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

and the

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abercromby, Julia Janet Georgiana 1840 births 1915 deaths British baronesses Daughters of British earls

Julia Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g. ...

Ladies of the Bedchamber 19th-century Neapolitan people British women artists British expatriates in Italy Court of Queen Victoria