Mary, Queen of Scots Escaping from Lochleven Castle
About this artwork
In 1805, this painting won a student prize for Shirreff while he was at the Trustees’ Academy. He chose an episode from the life of Mary, Queen of Scots which had been related by Gilbert Stuart in his influential ‘History of Scotland’ (1783). In a letter to his father the young artist wrote: "I have taken the point of time when Lord Seaton is receiving Mary from the boat, and young George Douglas handing her on and one of the attendants holding the horse that the Queen is to ride on. I am very pleased with it myself." By the early nineteenth century, Mary was a popular romantic heroine. William Lizars, one of Shirreff’s friends, engraved this painting after the young artist’s premature death.
Updated before 2020
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artist:William Craig Shirreff (1786 - 1805) Scottish
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title:Mary, Queen of Scots Escaping from Lochleven Castle
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date created:1805
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materials:Oil on canvas
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measurements:77.20 x 92.40 cm; Framed: 86.80 x 102.50 x 6.20 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Presented by Mrs Fairgrieve 1963
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accession number:NG 2255
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
William Craig Shirreff
William Craig Shirreff
Shirreff was born in Haddington, the son of an East Lothian farmer. He entered the Trustees’ Academy in Edinburgh in 1802, at the time when John Graham was master. Graham introduced oil painting into the curriculum, and also initiated a scheme of premiums for the best historical paintings. In 1805...