Anne Finlay

The Scottish painter Anne Finlay studied at Edinburgh Art School. Her varied talents covered portraits, landscapes and genre scenes. She regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Scottish Royal Academy. A portrait of her by her friend and fellow student Dorothy Johnstone (1892-1980) hangs in Aberdeen Art Gallery. Painted in 1920 it shows Anne reclining on a mattress wearing a then daring off-the-shoulder bohemian dress. Her expression is confident, assured. Anne had a scandalous affair with the painter James McBey. After time spent together in Paris and Venice they attended the 1924 New Year's Eve Chelsea Arts Ball dressed in costumes inspired by Goya. When the relationship ended, she fell in love with the husband of the painter Dod Proctor. Following his death she lived with the artist Phillip Connard in Sheen Road, Richmond. On her death in 1963 she bequeathed works by Connard and herself to the Borough.