Feedback
enquiries@holstvictorianhouse.org.uk
01242 524846
Menu
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Visit
  • What’s On
  • Volunteer
  • Learning
  • Collections
  • Support us
Product has been added to your basket.

Romantic Scotland

Posted on 2 years ago

Two oil paintings by John MacWhirter

MacWhirter, John; Highland Scene; Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/highland-scene-61916

In the Housekeeper’s Room in the Museum are two small oil sketches showing views of the Scottish Highlands. Perhaps the Housekeeper, like Boris Johnson, longed for a Scottish getaway! Both paintings are entitled ‘Highland Scene’, the one showing a shepherd and his dog watching their flock high above a loch, and the other a small boat on another tranquil loch. The sketches are by John MacWhirter (1839-1911), a popular Scottish landscape artist. He was born in Edinburgh, and studied at the Trustees Academy. He exhibited his first painting at the Royal Scottish Academy aged only 17, and would continue to exhibit with them throughout his life, becoming an Associate in 1872.

The paintings in the Housekeeper’s room are dated 1857, so, if they are definitely that early, date from this very early period of his career. MacWhirter moved to London in 1869, and his Scottish subjects continued to be popular. In the mid-19th century there was a lot of enthusiasm for Scottish subjects, driven, in part, by Queen Victoria’s own enthusiasm. She visited Scotland for the first time in 1842, and soon purchased the Balmoral estate. But she, like many at that time, would already have been familiar with a legendary Scotland from the writings of James MacPherson, whose Ossian poems were still thought to be authentic medieval verses when the Queen was a girl, and, of course Walter Scott’s novels and poems. This romantic idealised view of Scotland, and particularly the Highland, was rather at variance with the situation for the people who lived there. The Highland Clearances were happening from the 1850s, and changed the face of the Highlands forever. The shepherd in the picture shows what was happening – vast acres were being converted to grazing for sheep, and the people who lived moved off the land. Many ended up emigrating to America and Canada.

MacWhirter, John; Highland Scene; Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/highland-scene-61917

This is not what MacWhirter depicts in his paintings. They tap into the romantic idea of Scotland, and capitalise on the beauty of the Highland landscape. At first, he was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, and the art critic and teacher John Ruskin even singled out a couple of his flower studies for particular praise, and gave them to the Ruskin School of Drawing (they’re now in the Ashmolean in Oxford). Later, his style became freer – more like, perhaps, these early sketches. He frequently travelled abroad to paint, loving Italy almost as much as Scotland, but saying, ‘if Italy is the land of light, Scotland is certainly the land of colour’.

Share this page with your friends…

Previous Post
Recitals on Holst’s piano: Tsukushi Mitsuda
Next Post
Absolom tea tin, 1932

Recent Posts

  • Coming Soon – Hidden in a Drawer 13 June 2022
  • Bake Back in Time 28 May 2022
  • Bringing the Country House to Life 24 May 2022
  • Knit Your Bit 20 April 2022
  • Kids Go Free 5 April 2022
  • Support Us as a Trustee 4 April 2022
  • Open Tuesday to Saturday 10-4 7 March 2022
  • Recognition from Cheltenham Arts Council 1 March 2022
  • Trust appoints new Vice Presidents and Patron 1 March 2022
  • Exploring English Song at Chapel Arts 28 February 2022

About us

Gustav Holst’s birthplace is a unique period house.

Hear stories of its eclectic residents, experience a working Victorian kitchen and scullery, and delight in authentic Victorian interiors above stairs.

Discover the life and times of Holst and view many of his possessions, including a piano on which he composed The Planets.

Please check Home Page for current opening times.  For more detailed directions please see the Visit page.

Other links

Feedback
Privacy Policy
Cookies Policy
Access Statement
Support us
Vacancies

TripAdvisor Travellers Choice
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
Tripadvisor

4 Clarence Road, Cheltenham, GL52 2AY

enquiries@holstvictorianhouse.org.uk
01242 524846

© Holst Victorian House     Charity number 1078599

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Visit
  • What’s On
  • Volunteer
  • Learning
  • Collections
  • Support us