British School (19th Century) Portraits of Captain Alexander Allan (1780-1854) and his wife Jean Allen (1782-1886), oil on canvas, 76.5 x 63.5 cm, frame 92 x 79 cm, a pair (2)

Notes: Captain Alexander 'Sandy' Allan (1780-1854), founder of the Allan Shipping Line 1819 and his wife Jean Allen, nee Crawford (1782-1886). Captain Allen from Saltcoats, Ayrshire was first cousin to the celebrated Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796) and rose from apprenticed shoemaker, to seaman, ship captain to shipping magnate within his lifetime. During the Peninsular War (1808-1814) he made a name for himself captaining a ship transporting troops, cattle and good to Spain in record time, without navy escort, to supply Wellington's army. He named a ship 'Jean' after his wife, which held the record for the fastest crossing between Firth of Clyde and Quebec City. In 1819 Allan founded The Allan Shipping line, which successfully dominated trade and transport between Scotland and Montreal, Canada. By the 1830s the company had offices in Glasgow, Liverpool and Montreal with Allan's five sons all working for the business.

Provenance: Consigned from an estate, the mother of whom was an Allan descendant born in 1898