Cowan Bridge of Boats, Rhine, Neuenburg

Cowan Sisters of Ayr

This painting forms part of a charming collection of works we have for sale by the hands of three Scottish sisters painting in the 1870s, who were the grandchildren of William Cowan—a wealthy gentleman, three times Provost of Ayr and managing partner of Hunters & Co bank (which later was acquired by the Union Bank of Scotland, Bank of Scotland and, most recently, Lloyds). The Cowan sisters (Sarah Anne, E.E. and A.C.) resided at Hartley House in Ayr, with their parents Cuthbert and Eliza Jane (née Tingcombe). This collection meticulously records landscape views around Scotland, as well as on the Continent in France, Switzerland and Germany. The paintings document the sisters’ local appreciation and affection for Scotland’s picturesque lochs, glens and castles, as well as their more adventurous travels to view the valleys of the Rhine, Switzerland’s glaciers and French town architecture.