David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson

John Sobieski Stolberg-Stuart, 1797 - 1872. Alias John Hay or John Hay Allan

About this artwork

John Sobieski and his brother, Charles Edward, arrived in Scotland sometime around 1822, claiming that they were direct descendants of Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) and his wife, Princess Louisa of Stolberg. At the time some people were sympathetic to the brothers’ claims. They were offered a house on the island of Eilean Aigas, eight miles west of Inverness, where they learned Gaelic and wrote verse. In 1842 they published ‘Vestiarium Scoticum’, an ‘ancient’ work on clan tartans that influenced the development of modern tartan. According to a contemporary source, they were "handsome men, particularly John Sobieski, who, however, had not a trace of the Stuart in his far finer face. They always wore the Highland dress, kilt and belted plaid, and looked melancholy…"

Updated before 2020

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David Octavius Hill

David Octavius Hill