• H
  • William Hogarth
Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, 1667/8 - 1747. Jacobite
Enlarge
Share

Reference URL

Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, 1667/8 - 1747. Jacobite 1746
  • Scottish Art
The chief of Clan Fraser, Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat switched his support to and fro between the Jacobites and the government throughout his long life. Spectacularly unprincipled and guided solely by self-interest, this charming bigamist convinced everyone from Louis XIV and Mary of Modena, to William of Orange and George I. Eventually, in 1746, he was wrong-footed, having brought out his clan to fight for Prince Charles at Culloden. His execution, 9 April 1747, on Tower Hill, drew huge crowds. Hogarth went to see Lovat while he was in custody in St Albans, en route for his trial for high treason in London. The old chief is pictured counting the numbers of the clans who supported the prince on his fingers.

Glossary Open

Battle of Culloden

A battle fought on Culloden Moor near Inverness in 1746 between supporters of the exiled House of Stuart - led by the Young Pretender, Prince Charles Edward Stuart - and government troops led by the Duke of Cumberland. The government victory effectively brought the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion to an end and resulted in a repression of Highland culture as punishment.

Jacobite

Jacobitism was a movement to restore the descendants of the Stuart King James VII and II to the British throne. The first claimant, Prince James Francis Edward (known as 'the Old Pretender') was exiled first in France, then Italy, from where he planned unsuccessful attempts to claim the throne. His son Prince Charles Edward (known as 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' or 'the Young Pretender') famously invaded Britain in 1745, but after some military successes was finally defeated at Culloden in 1746.

Battle of Culloden, Jacobite

Details

  • Acc. No. SP III 53.1
  • Medium Etching on paper
  • Size 33.35 x 22.23 cm
  • Credit Bequeathed by William Findlay Watson 1886

See related artworks

Part of

Scottish Art