In 2018, there was an exhibition here at the Georgia Museum of Art of the Belosselsky-Belozersky collection entitled “One Heart, One Way.” This exhibition was very highly received by both visitors and the staff of the museum. Two of the paintings were by Christina Robertson. Originally from Scotland, she was the first woman to be named an honorary member of the Royal Scottish Academy. In the 1830s, she found much success in Russia, painting for Tsar Nicholas I, his family and other high ranking families in St. Petersburg. Many of her paintings are still in the Hermitage, which holds the largest collection of Robertson’s works.
We know she painted two portraits for the Belosselsky-Belozersky family of Princess Elena Belosselsky-Belozersky in 1838 and in 1841. She also did an engraving based on the 1841 painting. At the time, Christina Robertson sold engravings for publication in periodicals and magazines. The exquisitely painted portraits, like the rest of the collection, remained in the family until gifted to the museum by Marina Belosselsky-Belozersky Kasarda. According to Dr. Asen Kirin, curator of Russian Art, these works had not been publicly shown before.
Princess Elena Pavlovna married Prince Esper Alexandrovich Belosselsky-Belozersky, of whom the museum also has two portraits. Their son was Prince Konstantin Esperovich. He is credited with removing the collection out of St. Petersburg in 1917 at the start of the Bolshevik revolution. These works were not on exhibition when the museum closed this spring, but I look forward to seeing these wonderful paintings in future exhibitions.
By Phillip Bond
