Duff House, an early Georgian mansion near Banff in north-east Scotland, has displayed Sweetest eyes were ever seen by Pre-Raphaelite painter Sir John Everett Millais (1829-1896) since 2 October. The work is on loan from the National Galleries of Scotland.
The portrait shows child actress Beatrice Buckstone and was first exhibited in 1881 in London. Millais took the title from Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem Catarina to Camões, after dropping his original title, A Girl with Violets.
The painting can be seen on selected dates until 26 September 2027, included in the Duff House admission price. Millais’s wife, Effie Gray, was from Perth, and the couple often holidayed in Scotland.
