Cecilia Douglas
Born28 February 1772
Glasgow, Scotland
Died25 July 1862
Orbiston House, Scotland
Known forArt collector and philanthropist

Cecilia Douglas (née Douglas) (28 February 1772 – 25 July 1862) was a Scottish art collector and philanthropist from Glasgow.[1][2] One of Scotland's wealthiest women during her lifetime, with a net worth of £40,000, her fortune was derived from the ownership of slaves in the British West Indies.[1]

Early life

Cecilia Douglas was born to John Douglas, a West Indian merchant,[1] and Cecilia Buchanan on 28 February 1772.[3] She was the fifth of 11 siblings, and one of only two daughters.[3]

Marriage

Douglas married Gilbert Douglas, a rich West Indian plantation owner from Balcony, on 26 January 1794, in Glasgow.[1] Their marriage lasted until Gilbert's death in 1807. No children resulted from the union.[3]

Gilbert owned two plantations: Fairfield, a cotton plantation in Demerara, and Mount Pleasant, a sugar plantation on the island of St. Vincent.[3]

Later life

After the death of Gilbert in 1807, she inherited half shares in his plantations and enslaved people in St Vincent and Demerara.[1] Her late husband also bequeathed her the use of estates in Lanarkshire in Scotland, Douglas Park and Boggs.[1]

In the 1820s she toured Europe, acquiring a variety of artworks and made profitable investments in British industry and commerce.[1]

Douglas lived at Orbiston House for the remainder of her years.[2] She commissioned a stained-glass window in Glasgow Cathedral to preserve her own and her family's legacy.[1] This has since been removed.[1]

Death

Douglas died at Orbiston House on 25 July 1862.[2] She bequeathed her entire art collection to Glasgow Corporation. Some of the paintings are displayed in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 The new biographical dictionary of Scottish women. Elizabeth Ewan. Edinburgh. 2018. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-4744-3629-8. OCLC 1057237368.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. 1 2 3 "Cecilia Douglas (nee Douglas) | Legacies of British Slavery". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
  3. 1 2 3 4 harmonyrowbc (2021-07-31). "Cecilia Douglas (1772-1862). Art Collector and Slave Owner". Glasgow's Benefactors. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
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