Restorations
attributed to John MacLaren Barclay (Scotland, b.1811, d.1886)
Portrait of Jannet Drummond Wanliss c.1860
oil on canvas
Gift of Mr Tom Wanliss, 2005
Painting conserved with funds from Carole & Barrie Coltman, 2011
Before conservation
attributed to John MacLaren Barclay (Scotland, b.1811, d.1886)
Portrait of John Wanliss c.1860
oil on canvas
Gift of Mr Tom Wanliss, 2005
Painting conserved with funds from Mrs Jocelyn Nevett, OAM
Before conservation
These portraits depict the parents of Thomas Drummond Wanliss (1830 - 1923), the Scottish born founder of the Ballarat Star. The Wanlisses were prosperous farmers in Perthshire, Scotland, in the early Victorian period. After emigrating to Australia, T.D. Wanliss returned to Scotland for a period of three years in 1861, and he probably brought these portraits back to Ballarat with him in 1864. Restoration has enabled the works to be attributed to an important Perthshire based portraitist, John MacLaren Barclay, on the basis of comparison works in the Perth Museum and Art Gallery.
