A SCOTTISH sculptor’s Victorian era marble bust set an auction record on Thursday.
The sculpture by Amelia Robertson Hill (1821-1904) sold for £22,680 after initially estimated to only sell for £12,000 to £18,000.
The auction house Dreweatts hosted the sale where the 1860 bust was up for auction.
The work portrays a young woman in a classical style wrap with her head tilted to up her right.
Bidding was competitive for the artwork with potential buyers from all around the world, before it sold to an internet buyer in Australia.
Robertson Hill’s work can be seen on display across Scotland including the statue of Robert Burns in Dumfries and the statue of David Livingstone and her contribution to the Scott Monument both in Edinburgh.
Robertson Hill grew up in Dunfermline in Fife and became famous for her creation of sculptural works.
Her father was Joseph Neil Paton (1797-1874) who still has designs in the Victoria and Albert Museum collection.
Her brothers, Waller Hugh Paton (1828-1895) and Joseph Noel Paton (1821-1901) were also acclaimed artists.
Robertson Hill trained under Scottish sculptor William Brodie (185-1881) before establishing her own studio.
She went on to exhibit over 60 sculptures at the Royal Scottish Academy, the Royal Academy, Glasgow Institute, the Royal Hibernian Academy and at the International Exhibition in Dublin in 1865.
Robertson Hill’s work consisted mainly of Arthurian and Shakespearean heroes or family friends.
She still faced Victorian era constraints towards her gender and was excluded from full membership at the Royal Scottish Academy.
The Albert Institute of Fine Arts at Edinburgh’s Shandwick Place in 1877 that she helped to establish aimed to not discriminate by gender.
Silas Currie, Head of Dreweatts British and European Sculpture and Works of Art department, said: “We are thrilled with the result of this remarkable bust, which set a new auction record for this neglected Victorian female artist.
“Only a few works of Amelia Robertson Hill have come to auction, with half of them being her portrait miniatures, so it was a privilege to be able to offer it for sale and a delight to see her works finally attaining the recognition that they deserve.”
Robertson Hill exhibited work at the Royal Scottish Academy until 1902 when she was 82 years old.
She died at home at Newington Lodge, 38 Mayfield Terrace, Edinburgh on July 5th 1904, aged 83.
She was buried next to her husband in Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh beneath a sculpture of him that she had sculpted for his grave 34 years earlier.
