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1 of 253523 objects
Alexander Johnston (1815-91)
Flora Macdonald 1869
Oil on canvas | 76.8 x 64.0 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 406295
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This is a romanticised portrait of the Jacobite heroine who had helped the Young Pretender, Bonnie Prince Charlie, to escape from the Highlands after his defeat at the battle of Culloden in 1745. Over her dress she is wearing a plaid of Macdonell of Glengarry tartan. She was caught and imprisoned, then in 1774 emigrated to North Carolina in the USA but returned to Scotland in 1779. Robert Louis Stevenson, amongst others, wrote a poem in her honour and the popular 'Skye Boat Song' encapsulated her spirit of adventure.
When the writer Samuel Johnson visited her in 1773 he summed up both the woman and her legend: 'A name that will be mentioned in history, and if courage and fidelity be virtues, mentioned with honour'.
Signed: Alex Johnston.Provenance
Given to Queen Victoria on her birthday, 24 May 1869 by the Prince and Princess of Wales; presumably given by Queen Victoria to the Duke of Connaught; purchased by Mr Bridgwater at sale of the Duke of Connaught's pictures; presented to Queen Elizabeth II (c.1967) and to be hung at Osborne.
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Creator(s)
(nationality)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
76.8 x 64.0 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
88.1 x 75.5 x 6.1 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)
