Henry Raeburn Dobson: A Scottish Portraitist Rooted in Genre Tradition Henry Raeburn Dobson (1901-1985) emerged from a family steeped in artistic heritage—a lineage tracing back to Kirkcudbright, Scotland and marked by wool merchants and itinerant painters. Born into modest circumstances, Dobson’s father, Henry John Dobson (1858–1928), abandoned the family business to pursue his own artistic ambitions, influencing Dobson's formative years profoundly. Despite facing financial hardships throughout his life—a legacy of his father’s struggles—Dobson persevered in honing his craft and establishin…