TREASURES OF KINLOCH CASTLE
Researched, written and illustrated by George W. Randall,
co-founder in 1996 and former
Vice-Chairman Kinloch Castle Friends’ Association.
A selection of the vulnerable 300+ Oil Paintings,
Watercolours and Prints within this late Victorian Hunting Lodge on the Isle of Rum, off Scotland’s West Coast.
PART ONE
Today, in September 2024, with Kinloch Castle closed and at the mercy of the elements and human indifference,
even greater uncertainty remains
as to its future with its contents in-situ.
Three years in
the building,
Sir George Bullough, Bt., (1870-1939), commissioned construction
of Kinloch Castle in 1897; its furnishings still include many exquisite Oriental
objects d’art collected during his three year long world tour, 1892-1895.
In addition each
room contains prints, oil and watercolours as well as personal photographs; in
total some three hundred images reflecting not only artistic tastes in the
late
Victorian / Edwardian period but in particular those of Sir George
and his aristocratic French wife, Lady Monique Lilly Bullough,
(1869-1967),
daughter of Gerard Gustavus Ducarel, 4th Marquis
de la Pasture and his wife, Leontine Lilly Standish, 1843-1869, the family at the time
residing on Canterbury Plains, near Christchurch, New Zealand.
INTRODUCTION:
Sir George and Lady Bullough's Highland
home remains fully furnished, a unique time
capsule of a bygone age before the
world
and society changed forever with the outbreak of
World War I on the 28th of July 1914.
World War I on the 28th of July 1914.
George Randall first visited Kinloch Castle in 1992 and has returned over thirty times
during the intervening years, his often fortnightly
during the intervening years, his often fortnightly
stays allowing him to build an invaluable
collection
of interior and external images, including the steadings, gardens
and extensive glasshouses –
the latter now disappeared.
every book in the magnificent library
and every picture on display, stored or
hidden away,
regrettably the latter invariably being badly damaged and/or suffering
from
damp; their historical value unrecognised!
Many, if not all can be saved!
Otherwise they could be lost forever -- 
In this, first of a series of blogs on the
photographs and paintings within
Kinloch Castle, I will highlight using before
and after images plus background research, the consequences of what sixty-seven years
of total indifference and failed management have wrought on the pictures in this
publicly owned Castle purchased with tax-payers'
money
on the 28th of February 1957, the eighty-seventh anniversary
of the birth of Sir George Bullough, Bt., whose widow sold
the 40 square mile
island, along with Kinloch Castle and its contents,
to the Conservative Government of
the day for £23,000,
"the island to be used in perpetuity
as a nature reserve and Kinloch Castle maintained ... ..."
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SMALL DOG ABOUT
TO STEAL BONE FROM SLEEPING BULLMASTIFF
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PETER PAN
Peter Pan is
portrayed as a “mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up,
spending his never-ending childhood on the small island of Neverland as the
leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with mermaids, Indians, fairies
and pirates; from time to time meeting ordinary children from the world outside.”
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A framed and glazed etching displayed in Sir George Bullough's bedroom
A framed and glazed photograph, sadly damp stained,
of George Bullough and his class at Harrow School. Undated but circa 1886
when he was sixteen years old.
Frame overall: 18 x 15 inches. Photograph: 10 x 8 inches.
The reverse bears the label:
"J. Smith, Gilder, Picture-frame Maker, and Mount Cutter, Round Church Street, Cambridge. Old Frames re-gilt equal to new."
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Harrow School motto above a lion rampant - the Seal of the School Governors.
The overall print size is 24 x 20 inches.
The print is undated, however the inclusion of a memorial to the South African War 1899-1902, better known as the Boer War, and the fact that
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SMALL DOG ABOUT
TO STEAL BONE FROM SLEEPING BULLMASTIFF
The engraving,
displayed in Hostel Bedroom 11 in April 2009 when the photograph was taken, bears no title or name
of artist.
Glazed, oak frame,
overall 44 x 28 inches.
Print size: 24 x 18 inches.
Label on reverse
reads:
“Framed by Arthur Wilson
Picture
Frame Maker Dealer
in Works of Art, Artist's
Colourman &c.
Old
Frames Re-gilded
Equal to New. 156A, Blackburn Road,
Accrington.”
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Photographed in
the Manager’s Flat, Kinloch Castle in April 2009 this glazed, gilded ebony
framed colour print of Peter Pan measures 7 x 5¾ inches overall.
Seated on a
grassy slope in a wood, Peter is playing his pipe to an audience of rabbits.
No artist or description
is given, but the work is very similar to illustrations by illustrator Frances
Donkin Bedford (1864-1954) in the novel “Peter and Wendy” by Scottish novelist and
dramatist
Sir James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937).
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HARROW SCHOOL (Water damaged)
Sir George Bullough attended Harrow School from March 1884 - March 1887 -
aged fourteen to seventeen.
HARROW SCHOOL
Etching
by William Monk (1863-1937).
Stored
directly on the floor in the Piper’s Room off the gallery in the Great Hall
of
Kinloch Castle, this glazed, dark framed picture measures 17 x 12 inches
overall,
the
print 7½ x 10½ inches.
The photograph was taken
in October 2007 when damp conditions had already damaged the left side of the
frame (on
which it was stored standing) and black mould penetrated the mounting
board, particularly
visible upper left.
This
is one of a series of four works by the English etcher and woodcut engraver
William
Monk depicting Harrow and its public school for boys founded by John Lyon in 1572 under
a Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth in Kinloch Castle.
Son
of a gunmaker, Monk was born in Chester and educated at the Chester School of
Art and Antwerp Academy in Belgium. Aged twenty-one he was an Associate of the
Royal Society of Painters-Etchers and Engravers and was elected a full member in
1899. He lived in London from 1892 returning to Chester in 1933 where he died
four year later aged seventy-four.
Today
his work is very collectable, with examples in the British Museum,
the Victoria
and Albert Museum and Imperial War Museum.
Framed and glazed etching displayed in Sir George Bullough's bedroom
HARROW SCHOOL ROOM
Etching by William Monk
Etching by William Monk
Framed and glazed etching displayed in Sir George Bullough's bedroom
in Kinloch Castle.
HARROW SCHOOL
Etching by William Monk
Etching by William Monk
A framed and glazed etching displayed in Sir George Bullough's bedroom
in Kinloch Castle.
> + <
GEORGE BULLOUGH SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPH
(Water damaged)
of George Bullough and his class at Harrow School. Undated but circa 1886
when he was sixteen years old.
Frame overall: 18 x 15 inches. Photograph: 10 x 8 inches.
The reverse bears the label:
"J. Smith, Gilder, Picture-frame Maker, and Mount Cutter, Round Church Street, Cambridge. Old Frames re-gilt equal to new."
HARROW SCHOOL
DONORUM DEI DISPENSATIO FIDELIS
(The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God.)
Displayed along the Oak Bedroom Corridor,
a 1906 first floor addition to the original
completed building.
Photographed in March 2006
It is
signed Kennard Kreyer in pencil in the white border lower right:
the 2nd of July 1902 was the three hundred and thirtieth anniversary
of the founding of Harrow School
would suggest this work was a commemorative issue to those two events and
nine former pupils who achieved great things in their lifetime.
During Speech Day on the 2nd of July 1902,
Field Marshal The Right Honourable
Earl Roberts, V.C., K.G., K.P., G.C.B., O.M., G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E.,
laid the foundation stone of the Boer War Memorial in the north transept of
Harrow School Chapel in commemoration of the ultimate sacrifice given by
fifty-five of the five hundred Harrovians who fought in the thirty-two month long engagement between the British Empire and two Boer states:
the South African Republic and the Orange Free State.
ABOVE: Memorial
to the South African War (Boer War) 1899-1902.
Stepped memorial inscriptions recording land or sea battles of five Harrow students:
Admiral Sir George Rodney /
Lieutenant General Comte de Grass
Battle of Saintes 1782
Admiral Sir Edward Codrington
Admiral Sir Edward Codrington
Battle of Navarino 1727
Lieutenant General Earl of Cardigan
Lieutenant General Earl of Cardigan
Charge of the Light Brigade 1855
Colonel Frederick Gustavus Burnaby
Colonel Frederick Gustavus Burnaby
Battle of Abu Klea 1885
Major General William Earle
Major General William Earle
Battle of Kirbekan 1885
1) The Battle of Saintes, (so named after a group of islands between Guadeloupe and Dominica in the West Indies), was a three day naval engagement in
April 1782, during the American revolutionary war, between British Admiral Sir George Rodney (joint commander with Admiral Samuel Hood) and French Lieutenant General Comte de Grass. The French fleet had been blockading the British Army in Chesapeake Bay during the Siege of Yorktown, although the Saintes engagement resulted in a decisive British victory, the overall result of the revolution was victory to America.
2) The
Battle of Navarino was a one day naval battle fought on the 20th
October 1827 during the Greek War of Independence. British Admiral Sir Edward
Codrington successfully commanded the naval force, which included vessels of
the French and Russian navies, against those of the Ottoman Empire led by General
Ibrahim Pasha, later ruler of Egypt and Sudan.
3) One of, if not the most infamous battle in British history is the Charge
of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava on Wednesday the 25th
of October 1854 in the Crimean War. The Commander-in-Chief of British troops in
the Crimea at the time was Field Marshal Fitzroy James Henry Somerset, 1st
Baron Raglan (1788-1855) whose primary objective was to defend Constantinople,
the strategic sea port city between the Black and Mediterranean seas. Lieutenant-General
James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan (1797-1868) commanded
the Light Brigade. Overall command of the cavalry was under Lieutenant-General
George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, (1800-1888). Lucan received an ambiguous
order from Raglan stating “the cavalry was to advance rapidly to the front,
follow the (Russian) enemy, and try to prevent the enemy carrying away the guns
… …” Cardigan led the charge from the front. Despite withering fire from three
sides decimating men and horses the Russians were initially forced to abandon
their positions; but Cardigan’s charge was not followed up by Lucan and
his Heavy Brigade allowing the Russians to return to their guns and open fire
on the Light Brigade with grape and canister shot as they withdrew as best
each man could. One in six of the 666 who entered what has become known as “the
valley of death” were killed with a quarter injured.
5) Major General William Earle, (1833-1885), left Harrow in 1851 and joined the Hertfordshire based 29th Regiment of Foot. From 1854 he fought in most of the major battles in the Crimean War (1853-1856) his gallantry earning him the English, Sardinia and Turkish medals. Following promotion to colonel in the 1870’s he served in India as military secretary the Viceroy, Lord Northbrook. Promoted Major General in 1880 he was sent to Egypt; within two years he was appointed commander of the garrison at Alexandria. In late 1884, as a member of the Nile Expedition, Earle took command of the column belatedly sent to Khartoum to relieve General George Gordon under siege due to an Islamic rebellion by Sudanese Mahdists. Before he reached Khartoum, news reached Earle the city had been overrun on the 26th of January 1885, Gordon killed and his entire garrison of six thousand being slaughtered. On the 10th of February 1885 Earle’s force of one thousand completely routed nine thousand Mahdist troops in the five hour long Battle of Kirbekan. The British lost sixty officers and men, including General Earle, all of whom were buried on the field of battle.
Stepped inscriptions recording four Governor Generals / Viceroys of India:
4) Colonel Frederick Gustavus Burnaby (1842-1885) of the Royal Horse Guards, known as the Blues, was a 6 ft. 4 inches tall army intelligence officer and British national hero renowned for his swashbuckling courage. In the fifteen minute long Battle of Abu Klea (Khartoum), on the 17th of January 1885 between the British Desert Column and forces of Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah, better known as the Mahdi, Colonel Burnaby was killed by a spear to the throat while attempting to rescue an injured colleague. Despite being outnumbered at more than nine to one this hand to hand battle, part of the Mahdist War, resulted in a victory for the United Kingdom.
A gifted scholar; in 1854, aged only twelve years old, Frederick Burnaby came very close to being expelled from Harrow for “sending a lively article against ‘fagging’, (where young public school boys undertook menial chores for older boys and prefects), to Punch Magazine”. He excelled at sport and was a gifted linguist, including Russian. At sixteen Burnaby passed his examination for the army, the youngest of the 150 candidates. Gazetted a cornet in the 3rd regiment Household Cavalry, he left Harrow in 1859. He was appointed lieutenant in 1861, captain five years later, major in 1879, and lieutenant colonel of the Royal Horse Guards in 1881 until his death in 1885.
Stepped inscriptions recording four Governor Generals / Viceroys of India:
Warren Hastings F.R.S., an English statesman, the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William, Calcutta, Bengal; head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and first de facto Governor-General of India from 1774 to 1785.
John Shore 1st Baron Teignmouth was a British official of the East India Company who served as Governor-General of Bengal from 1793 to 1798. In 1798 he was created Baron Teignmouth in the Peerage of Ireland. Shore was the first president of the British and Foreign Bible Society.
James Andrew Broun Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie, K.T., P.C., was a Scottish statesman and colonial administrator in British India. He served as Governor-General of India from 1848 to 1856.
Edward Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton, G.C.B., G.C.S.I, G.C.I.E., P.C., was an English statesman, Conservative politician, and poet. He served as Viceroy of India between 1876 and 1880 during his tenure Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India by British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli. Earl Lytton was British Ambassador to France from 1887 to 1891.
Edward Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton, G.C.B., G.C.S.I, G.C.I.E., P.C., was an English statesman, Conservative politician, and poet. He served as Viceroy of India between 1876 and 1880 during his tenure Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India by British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli. Earl Lytton was British Ambassador to France from 1887 to 1891.
A head and
shoulders glazed and framed miniature photograph of
Digital Photograph taken November 2011.
Located
on the mantel-shelf in
Lady Bullough’s drawing room in
Kinloch Castle.
Actual
photograph measures only
2 x 1¼ inches.
The broken frame is
in two pieces,
the glass, photograph and backing all loose.
No
date or photographer's identification.
Monique
Lilly was born in Christchurch,
New Zealand on the 7th of April
1869. Her mother was Lilly, (née Léontine Standish, born on the 12th of
February 1843), Countess de La Pasture, wife of Gerard Gustave Ducarel, 4th Marquis
de La Pasture, who inherited the title aged sixteen on
the death of his father on the 11th of
April 1854. They
married on the 4th of
July 1864.
Countess de La Pasture died the day following the birth
of her
daughter and
is buried in Barbadoes Street Cemetery,
Christchurch, South Island New
Zealand.
+
(The actual photograph measures 2 x 1¼ inches.)
Regrettably minimal maintenance,
On the 19th of
March 1889 nineteen year old Monique married thirty year old
Charles Edward
Nicholas Charrington, they had a daughter,
Dorothea Elizabeth Charrington, born in April
1890, and nicknamed, “Pippa”.
Sadly the marriage was a failure. Charles Charrington
filed for divorce in 1902
citing his wife as respondent and Sir George Bullough as co-respondent, the
proceedings being completed on the 25th May
1903.
On the 24th of
June, 1903, in a “glittering
ceremony at Kinloch Castle”
Sir George and Monique were married.
On the 5th of
November 1906 a daughter, Hermione, their only child was born. Hermione married
Anthony Claude Frederick Lambton,
5th Earl
of Durham on the 4th of
March 1931, they had one son,
the Honourable
John George Lambton, born in June 1932.
Hermione died in
1990; her son died, unmarried, in August 2012.
Sir George
Bullough died while playing golf in France in 1939 aged sixty-nine.
Lady Bullough, as principal beneficiary
and trustee of her husband’s estate,
agreed to sell their
beloved island of Rum, including fully furnished
Kinloch Castle to the nation on
the 28th of February 1957
(the 87th anniversary of Sir George's birthday)
to be used in perpetuity as a nature
reserve and the castle
maintained … …
invariably far too little,
far, far too
late,
was ever undertaken,
and no knowledgeable custodian was ever assigned to care for Kinloch Castle
and its historically valuable contents.
and its historically valuable contents.
+
Lady Bullough
died in May 1967 aged ninety-eight, and is interred
in the Bullough Mausoleum (left) at the old township of Harris
on the island’s south-west coast, alongside her
husband and his father,
John, who originally bought Rum in 1888 as a sporting estate.
 |
| Wreaths laid at the Bullough Mausoleum, the last resting place of Lady Bullough. Ownership of the area within the chain link fence remains with the family. |
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A glazed, oval framed miniature photograph of George Bullough on the
mantel-shelf in Lady Bullough's (extended) drawing room, formerly the Boudoir.
George
Bullough, was the eldest son of John and Swiss born Bertha (née Schmidlin) Bullough.
Digital Photograph taken November 2011.
AS FOUND -
FRAME-LESS, FOLDED, EDGES BADLY DAMAGED
(Digital
photographs taken November 2011.
George W. Randall Research and Photographic
Archive © )
FROM SOUTH WALL, YOSEMITE VALLEY 1894
Digital
photographs
taken November 2011.
George
W. Randall Research
and
Photographic Archive ©
These photographs originally taken in 1894 depict
Yosemite National Park on the west slope of the central Sierra Nevada
Mountains, an area of outstanding scenic beauty which includes one of
the world’s highest waterfalls.
With a vertical drop of 2,425 feet,
almost half a mile, Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall
in the United States and the twentieth highest in the world, that being Angel
Falls in Canaima National Park, Venezuela,
at 2,953 feet.
FOUND STORED STANDING ON FLOOR IN DAMP ROOM
Photographed
March 2006
Appears to be copy
of an original work signed (lower right) by J. PEOT,
with the inscription:
“No.
18 Jack Peot A Tinto Hill” written on the reverse with address label:
“J. Peot,
13 Hollytown Road, Bellshill” pasted below.
The glazed,
gilded frame measures 30¼ x 24½ inches overall
and is intact and undamaged.
The picture
measures: 20½ x 14½ inches.
(Bellshill is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland.)
2,320 feet* in
height, the highest hill in Lanarkshire, Tinto Hill
stands
on the left bank of the River Clyde.
It
is the largest of the small group of hills collectively known as the Tinto
Hills or Hills of Fire because of the red felsite rock found at the summit. Red
Felsite is a fine grained volcanic rock, which
becomes even more strikingly red when wet.
Its decorative
appearance makes it ideal for drives, paths and on graves.
* Being between
2,000 and 2,499 feet high with a drop of at least 490 feet all round,
Tinto
Hill fills the criteria for being classed number 77 out of the 219 hills on the
Graham List of Mountains in Scotland.
Mr. LE PRINCE EUGENE
PHOTOGRAPHED AS FOUND
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INNOCENCE
PHOTOGRAPHED AS FOUND
 No identification of artist or engraver. |
 |
This glazed, framed picture of Prince Eugene of Savoy is suffering severe black mold and water damage due to being in very wet conditions for a considerable time.
The engraving itself is heavily water-stained.
Prince Eugene of
Savoy was born in Paris on the 18th of October 1663
and grew up
around the French court of King Louis XIV.
He is described “as
one of the most successful leaders of modern European history”,
rising to the
highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna.
He died in
Vienna on the 21st of April 1736.
Detail
of battle depicted lower right of engraving.
The Prince successfully engaged in
numerous battles.
His final and greatest victory was the Battle
of Belgradein (Siege of Belgrade) over nineteen days in July/August 1717 when fifty-four year
old Prince Eugene of Savoy
recaptured the city from the Turks.
A scene from this battle was painted by
Johann Gottfried Auerbach
and this background scene could well be taken or based on that work.
and this background scene could well be taken or based on that work.
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INNOCENCE
Tito Conti
Photographed as found.
The lower area
being so damaged by the ravages of damp and
as to obliterate title and name of artist.
The glazed, oak
frame measures 30½ x 22½ inches overall surrounding a plain,
narrow
gilded fillet or accent strip. The actual print, 21½ x 14½ inches,
is mounted
on white mat board.
Print shops of the Georgian Era to Queen
Victoria selling pictures depicting famous people to historical events flourished.
“The Illustrated London News”
in May
1842, which included
engraved copies of famous works of art and sold for sixpence.*
Victorian homes
became decorated with these intaglio works, “those depicting the gentleness of female
beauties rapidly developing a fondness which grew into
that of keepsake.”
Such fashionable
images created a special period of art which include some of the most outstanding paintings of the time.
Known for his precise attention to detail the Italian
artist Tito Conti is today considered a master amongst the artists of the
period.
“In his elegant ladies and finely dressed maids we are spoilt with the sheer
luxury
with which he decorates the canvas ... (as he) brings each characteur to
life.”
 |
| * Sixpence was a fortieth of a pound sterling and equates to £1.70 in 2019. |
INNOCENCE (Tito Conti 1842 - 1924)
 |
| The lady in Tito Conti's INNOCENCE bears similarity to his Terrass med sittande kvinnor above left. |
LADY BULLOUGH AND DAUGHTER HERMIONE
(Very badly damaged.)
Photographed as found.
Unframed, large areas, particularly the lower half of the photograph badly stained
and destroyed by damp.
Originally in a “white and gold” frame - the framing instructions are written
on the reverse -
this beautiful 14 x 11½
inch image
of Lady Bullough and her daughter, Hermione, would have
taken pride
of place in the family home.
How did it end up in this state?
Why, having become separated
from its
original frame was it not better cared for, protected,
best of all re-framed?
This is amongst, if not because of
its personal
nature, the worst
example of indifference and
ignorance regards the contents of
Kinloch Castle; contents signed into the care of the Nature Conservancy in 1957 by Deed of Acceptance (today Scottish
Natural Heritage funded by the Scottish Government itself funded by tax payers) - the gift to be officially
known as:
The Sir George Bullough, Baronet, Memorial.
Mounted directly
onto card mount the photograph was found, along with others,
stored directly
on an attic floor against a dividing wall, although at the time dry,
it clearly has
been exposed to damp, humid conditions, even penetrating damp,
ideal conditions
for the micro-fungus Stachybotrys chartarun (black mold)
to
become established and
do its worst to stored material,
(particularly paper based) the building
itself and pose
a respiratory threat to humans.
Hermione Bullough was born on 5 November 1906,
the only child of Sir George and Lady Bullough.
In this photograph she appears to be about four years old
giving it a date of 1910.
Her mother at that time would have been forty-one years old.
* * * * * * * * * *
LADY BULLOUGH
Studio portrait by H. Walter Barnett.
Photographed as found.
Unframed, unprotected, stored directly against other unframed pictures.
A studio portrait of LADY BULLOUGH by H. Walter Barnett.
Card mount measures: 17¾ x 15½ inches * Photograph: 11¼ x 9¼ inches.
 |
| LADY BULLOUGH (Studio Photograph 11¼ x 9¼ inches) |
A prominent
portrait photographer, Barnett was born in 1862 in the suburb of St. Kilda,
Melbourne, Australia. He left school at the age of thirteen and began his
career as an assistant with Robert Stewart and Co., 217 & 219 Bourke Street East, Melbourne’s foremost
photographers, miniature and portrait painters.
Aged eighteen he
moved to Hobart, Tasmania and started his first commercial venture.
Two years later
he realised he needed wider experience and for almost three years travelled the
world, working as he went for leading photographers of the day, including Isaiah
West Taber in San Francisco, the most successful photographer on America’s west
coast. In London, England
he was on the staff of court photographers. W. and D. Downey and assisted in the sittings for Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII).
he was on the staff of court photographers. W. and D. Downey and assisted in the sittings for Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII).
In 1885 he
returned to Australia opening a studio in Sydney.
Utilising the skills he had
learnt in his travels, including dramatic lighting,
he was an immediate success.
At age
thirty-five Barnett moved to London where he quickly established himself as
a
leading portrait photographer from his studio at 1, Park Side, Hyde Park Corner.
In 1901 he became a founder member (later
vice-president)
of the Professional Photographers Association and in 1903 was
elected to the
council of the Royal Photographic Society.
In 1920, aged
fifty-eight, Barnett sold his London studio and moved to France.
He died in Nice in
January 1934.
* * * * * * * * * *
** -------------------------------------------- * -------------------------------------------- **
bearing the title: “The Fair Student” *
photographed in March 2006 by the author.
(* Note: One of more than two dozen similarly framed
images of paintings or famous people
around Kinloch Castle.)
The subject of the second of the
 |
| Romney painted Emma on many occasions. |
N A T U R E
Mezzotint by John Raphael
Smith
after George Romney
When photographed in March
2006 this print was located in the Sir William Bass Bedroom in Kinloch Castle.
It depicts Emma, Lady
Hamilton as Nature, the print itself measures 19½ x 16¾ inches and is in a
glazed ebony and gilt frame.
+ *
+ * + * + * + * +
Emma Lyon was
seventeen years old in 1782 when George Romney painted the original oil on
canvas of this mezzotint by
John Raphael
Smith.
Emma was the
mistress of antiquarian and politician Charles Francis Greville (
second son of
the Earl of Warwick), who commissioned the portrait,
one of several by Romney
of the beautiful and vivacious daughter of a Cheshire blacksmith who had
died when Emma was only two months
old.
Brought up by her mother and maternal grand-mother,
she went by the
name of Emma Hart.
 |
| Sir
William Hamilton, K.B., P.C., F.R.S., F.R.S.E. 1730-1803. Portrait by David Allan. |
Greville
educated Emma in music and
literature and eventually introduced her
to his
uncle, Sir William Hamilton, Privy Councillor and British ambassador to
Naples during his visit to Scotland.
Hamilton, fourth son of the Duke of Hamilton was an archæologist and
vulcanologist,
and, like Greville, an antiquarian.
Sir William, who
was thirty-five years her senior, married Emma in September 1791
at St.
George's, Anglican Church, Hanover Square, London, before returning to Italy.
In August 1793 Hortatio Nelson in command of the 64 gun HMS Agamemnon docked in the
Bay of Naples to discuss the Anglo-Neapolitan Treaty, an agreement negotiated by Sir William which “maintained the Kingdom of Naples's allegiance during Britain's war against France.”
Bay of Naples to discuss the Anglo-Neapolitan Treaty, an agreement negotiated by Sir William which “maintained the Kingdom of Naples's allegiance during Britain's war against France.”
Nelson met the
King of Naples, Ferdinand IV, and afterwards was introduced to Sir William and
Lady Hamilton. It was Nelson's first meeting with Emma.
Following
successful talks,
Nelson set sail in mid-September “in pursuit of the French.”
Painted by George Romney Engraved by John Raphael Smith
Mezzotint Engraver to his Royal
Highness
the Prince of Wales
NATURE
“Flushed by the spirit of the genial year
Her lips blush deeper sweets, the breath of youth
The shining moisture swells into her eyes
In brighter glow her wishing bosom heaves
With palpitations wild.”
London. Published 19 May 1784 by
J. R. Smith, No. 5, Oxford Street.
** -------------------------------------------- * -------------------------------------------- **
 |
| Vice-Admiral of the White
The Right Honourable The Viscount Nelson
Portrait by Lemuel Francis Abbott (1760-1802) |
Five years
later, August 1798, Nelson arrived again in the Bay of Naples
after defeating
the French Fleet at the Battle of the Nile, a major three day naval
engagement between the
Royal Navy and the navy of the French Republic of Aboukir off the Nile delta
which dealt a major blow to Napoleon's ambitions in the east.
As Britain’s ambassador to Naples
Sir William invited Nelson to dine with him and Lady Hamilton. However, severely injured
since their previous meeting; he was blinded in his right eye during the Siege
of Bastia (Corsica)
in 1794 after being hit in the face by
earth and rocks when
a shell exploded; plus an amputated right arm,
lost while leading a landing party
during a frontal assault on Santa Cruz (Canary Isles) in July 1797;
Nelson
wrote to Emma: “you and Sir William have spoiled me …..
I trust my mutilations
will not cause me to be less welcome.”
His fears were
of no concern to Emma who immediately began working on a fitting welcome for
the “Hero of the Nile.”
Emma cares for the exhausted,
 |
| Portrait of Emma as Bacchante in the Greek tragedy by Euripeides by George Romney. |
battle-weary Nelson, who is suffering excruciating headaches and has
difficulty eating due to the loss of
many of his teeth, both the result
of the shell explosion
during the Siege of Bastia
four years previously.
four years previously.
For the next few months Emma nursed Nelson back
to health, at the same time Sir William treated him as a son and friend.
to health, at the same time Sir William treated him as a son and friend.
Just before Christmas 1798, with a French invasion imminent, Nelson moved the Hamiltons and the Neapolitan Royal Family to Palermo in Sicily.
It is believed, despite having married Frances Nisbet
It is believed, despite having married Frances Nisbet
(a widow) on the 11th
of March 1787 on the Caribbean island of Nevis, Nelson’s affair with Emma began
at this time. For eighteen months the three lived in a ménage-à-trois relationship while Nelson’s ships were moored in the bay ready for action.
Sir William retired in early 1800 and in June Nelson received permission to return
to home due to ill-health.
All three returned to England where they soon discovered society was far more judgmental.
All three returned to England where they soon discovered society was far more judgmental.
Satirists like James Gillray were merciless in their verbal references and cartoon portrayals of their three way relationship, often depicting the now elderly
and frail Sir William asleep in the background of their
satirical sketches, while portraying the once animated
and beautiful Emma as no longer so and obese.
Emma was in fact carrying Nelson’s daughter Horatia,
born on the 29th of January 1801 and christened
Emma was in fact carrying Nelson’s daughter Horatia,
born on the 29th of January 1801 and christened
Horatia Nelson Thompson.
On the 9th of
November 1800 Nelson arrived in London where he was given a hero’s welcome. He attended
court and was guest of honour at numerous banquets and balls.
It was during
this period Emma and
Fanny Nelson met for the first time.
Nelson’s coldness towards his wife resulted in her
issuing an ultimatum; choose her or Emma. Nelson’s replied that although he loved her
dearly he could not forget his “obligations to Lady Hamilton or speak of her otherwise than
with affection and admiration.” They never lived together again.
Nelson depended
upon Emma for love.
For the remaining few years of his life, (he was killed by
a French sniper
during the Battle of Trafalgar on the 21st of
October 1805 aged forty-seven),
he lived with Emma and Sir William Hamilton
(Sir William died in April 1803
aged seventy-two) and their daughter
at Merton Place,
at the time in county of Surrey.
Much more detail
can be found by searching the references below.
References: Encyclopædia
Britannica;
Injuries and Illnesses – Nelson Museum;
Turning a Blind
Eye - Wikipedia;
History –
Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson;
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount
Nelson - Wikipedia;
Merton Parish;
Admiral Lord Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar;
Admiral Lord Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar;
Horatia Nelson Thompson.
ONE IS LEFT TO PONDER THE CONSEQUENCES
IF NELSON HAD DIED FROM HIS INJURIES?
NELSON'S RETURN TO HEALTH AND SUCCESS AT THE
BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR (21 OCTOBER 1805)
IS IN GREAT PART DOWN TO EMMA'S CARE AND DEVOTION?
BUT THE GOVERNMENT TOTALLY IGNORED HIS DYING WISH:
"LOOK AFTER EMMA."
* * * * * + * * * * *
Four Oval Portraits of Ladies:
Over the years,
like so much of the contents of Kinloch Castle, these four beautiful portraits have been moved from room to room, carelessly handled and stored,
divided and, fortunately, reunited!
divided and, fortunately, reunited!
Again, over the
years, inventories were commissioned of Castle contents, the earliest of four in the
author’s possession being 1978 conducted by Phillips of Edinburgh, Scotland, one of Britain’s leading auction and valuation houses.
They simply described the two larger portraits (Item 556) as:
“Two coloured engraved portrait busts of ladies, oval in gilt frames.”
They simply described the two larger portraits (Item 556) as:
“Two coloured engraved portrait busts of ladies, oval in gilt frames.”
Similarly, Item
557 was listed as:
“Two coloured engraved portrait busts of ladies. Smaller”.
All
four located in the “Conservatory Bedroom.”
The
respective sizes are the larger: frame overall 11 x 9 inches / image
8 x 6½ inches.
The smaller picture overall 8 x 7½ inches.
Phillips
conducted further inventories in 1992 and 1996 in which no specific
reference
is made to these four portraits. However, in both cases,
on pages 37 and 29
respectively, “A set of thirteen Cries of London
and five
other engravings” are recorded in the “Conservatory Bedroom”.
In 2006,
international auctioneers Bonhams, New Bond Street, London,
conducted an
inventory in which again no specific mention is made of the four portraits.
Reference is made to “A set of eight distressed Cries
of London engravings”, still in the Conservatory Bedroom.
As found, the ornate, gilded framed and glazed portraits were badly damaged,
both prints water stained. Inventory Item 556. Overall height 11 x 9 inches.
This portrait is
identified as
“The Fair Student”
“The Fair Student”
bearing the title: “The Fair Student” *
displayed in the Manager’s Flat, Kinloch Castle and
(* Note: One of more than two dozen similarly framed
images of paintings or famous people
around Kinloch Castle.)
The original work is attributed to the 18th century Italian painter and engraver Giovanni Battista Cipriani, R.A., and engraved by fellow Italian engraver, Francesco Bartolozzi, R.A.
It is recorded as being published by W. Allen, Dame Street, Dublin.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Portrait of an Unknown Beauty
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Portrait of an Unknown Beauty
“Two coloured engraved portrait busts of ladies,
oval in gilt frames”, as recorded in Phillips' 1978 Inventory number 556,
oval in gilt frames”, as recorded in Phillips' 1978 Inventory number 556,
is so far unidentified.
***************************************
These two portraits are the original work of John Hedges Benwell,
Clearly
based on Cipriani's original there is however no indication who engraved
the
colour versions of either of these two portraits.
***************************************
Respectively titled: “A St. James’s Beauty” and “A St. Giles's Beauty”
and inscribed in the white border: J. H. Benwell pinxt - F. Bartolozzi sculpt.
As found, the ornate, gilded framed and glazed portraits were badly damaged,
the right print water stained. (Inventory Item 557.)
Overall height 8 x 7½ inches.
born in London in 1764,
each bears his name and that of Francesco Bartolozzi as the engraver.
“A St. James’s Beauty”
Respectively these Beauties are the third and seventh daughters of James Burrough,
Lord of the Manor of Alton Priors, County Wiltshire.
Their mother Elizabeth (nee Smith) descended from the Earls of Huntingdon.
“A St. Giles's Beauty”
Miss Elizabeth Burrough
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
SENSIBILITY
Emma, Lady Hamilton
Painted by George Romney Engraved by Rd. Earlom.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Kauffmann
arrived in London in the middle of 1766 staying for fifteen years; two years
later she was a founder member of the Royal Academy of Arts. Her
patrons included King George III, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich and Prince Nikolay Yusupov of Russia, Emperor Joseph II of Austria and Queen Caroline of
Naples; most likely through the latter becoming acquainted with Lady Hamilton,
her portrait of Emma as Thalia being dated 1791. when Emma was twenty-six years old.
-------------------------------------------
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
each bears his name and that of Francesco Bartolozzi as the engraver.
“A St. James’s Beauty”
Miss Priscilla Burrough
Respectively these Beauties are the third and seventh daughters of James Burrough,
Lord of the Manor of Alton Priors, County Wiltshire.
Their mother Elizabeth (nee Smith) descended from the Earls of Huntingdon.
ABOVE: A half-length profile
portrait of Miss Priscilla Burrough facing right wearing
a fine feathered hat, and
a string of pearls above her forehead.
Priscilla married married William Brooks, a wine merchant, money lender and founder in 1764
of the London club that bears his name.
Both portraits are the original work of John Hodges Benwell, this print published by Emmanuel Matthias Diemar in
1783 executed by Francesco Bartolozzi.
“A St. Giles's Beauty”
Miss Elizabeth Burrough
ABOVE: A half-length profile portrait of
Miss
Elizabeth Burrough
facing
left wearing a white lace bonnet
with satin ribbon and
a red shawl over a low blue dress with white
fichu -
a loosely draped neck-cloth tied
in a knot to the front giving a poutier pigeon
effect.
Elizabeth
married a solicitor.
The Kinloch
Castle portrait is heavily water stained additionally causing a significant loss of colour.
The engraver
Francesco Bartolozzi was
born in Florence in 1727 and died
in Lisbon in
1815.
The original
artist, John Hodges Benwell was born in 1764 at Blenheim Palace,
Oxfordshire, his father was
butler to George Spencer, fourth Duke of Marlborough, great, great, great
grandfather of Sir Winston Churchill.
Benwell died of tuberculosis in London in 1785 aged twenty-one.
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
THE HONOURABLE LADY HOWARD
THE HONOURABLE LADY HOWARD
As found, THE HONOURABLE LADY HOWARD
Mezzotint by John Smith (fecit. exc.) after Sir Godfrey Kneller (Eques pinx.)
The ebony and gilded
frame, which measures 24 x 18½ inches overall,
has been very badly damaged and almost destroyed
by having stood in water.
The lower half of the 16½ x 10¼ inch print is suffering
water staining,
the matboard likewise plus mold discolouration.
Anabella Lady
Howard, was the fourth wife of English playwright and Whig politician Sir
Robert Howard, (1626 – 1698), a great grandson of Henry Howard,
Earl of Surrey.
Sir Robert was
sixty-seven years old when he married eighteen year old Anabella Dyve, formerly
Maid of Honour to Princess (later Queen) Anne in 1692.
Dated 1697 depicts
Lady Howard aged twenty-three years old.
In Howard’s Will
dated the 26th of May 1697 he made Anabella his sole executor
and beneficiary of all his possessions. His forty-seven year old only surviving son,
Thomas Howard, M.P., Teller of the Receipt of the Exchequer, inherited his father’s
estate, Ashtead Manor in Surrey, purchased in 1680 from Henry Howard,
7th
Duke of Norfolk.
Following her husband’s death Anabella married the Reverend
Edmund Martin.
SENSIBILITYEmma, Lady Hamilton
This
photogravure from the engraving by Richard Earlom after George Romney is
displayed in Lady Bullough's Drawing Room at Kinloch Castle.
There
is slight foxing affecting the matboard because of high humidity and
fluctuating heat.
George Romney's work was reproduced by many engravers with and without the verse.
It was also copied as a colour stipple engraving and etched with hand colouring.
The figure is of Emma, Lady Hamilton,
facing right, in an open neck, sleeveless full length robe, a long shawl flowing out behind over her left shoulder.
A banded scarf, the crown entwined with snowdrops, is wound over her head and under her chin. She stands her back against a tree, her right knee resting against the edge of a stone pedestal on which her left knee takes her weight as she leans forward her left hand palm fully exposed,
fingers outstretch, she reaches towards a slender Mimosa pudica plant in a
Grecian amphoræ which sits on the pedestal set against a rolling landscape
with single tree as background.
With
eyes intent, lips slightly parted, her posture fully engaged on the slender plant
before her, Emma portrays the
“attitude” of Sensibility,
just one of her many tableaux vivianites, static classical poses originally captured by George Romney and here engraved by Richard Earlom.
S E N S I B I L I T Y
From the Original Picture in the
Possession of William Hayley, Esqr.
The leaves, as conscious of
their Queen’s command.
Successive fall at her
approaching hand;
While her soft breast with pity seems to pant,
And shrinks at every
shrinking of the plant.
Triumphs of Temper. Canto V. Verse 272
Published March 25th
1789 by John & Josiah Boydell. No. 90 Cheapside, London.
(NOTE: Triumphs of Temper, written in 1781, is a poem in six Cantos by poet and biographer William Hayley, Esq., 1745 - 1820. Hayley wrote "Life of Romney".)
(NOTE: Triumphs of Temper, written in 1781, is a poem in six Cantos by poet and biographer William Hayley, Esq., 1745 - 1820. Hayley wrote "Life of Romney".)
 |
| Triumphs of Temper Canto 5 Verse 272 |
The engraver,
Richard Earlom,
was born in London in 1743 and studied under Royal Academician Giovanni Capriani, exhibiting great skill as a draughtsman.
Aged twenty-two he was employed by publisher John Boydell, noted for his reproductions of engravings and work of up
was born in London in 1743 and studied under Royal Academician Giovanni Capriani, exhibiting great skill as a draughtsman.
Aged twenty-two he was employed by publisher John Boydell, noted for his reproductions of engravings and work of up
and coming artists. Boydell commissioned Earlom to
produce a series of drawings
from the pictures at Houghton Hall,
Norfolk, which he engraved in mezzotint.
In 1774 the first copies by Earlom of the
Norfolk, which he engraved in mezzotint.
In 1774 the first copies by Earlom of the
two hundred
drawings of the French painter, Claude Lorraine, were published by Boydell
as Liber Veritatis. Reproduced
“in the
Manner and Taste of the (original) Drawings” Earlom’s prints were so successful
they were reprinted, reworked
and recommended by teachers as examples for
students to copy.
Richard Earlom died in 1822 aged seventy-nine.
Richard Earlom died in 1822 aged seventy-nine.
************
“Owner of the original picture, William Hayley” was born in Chichester, England, November 1745 and educated at Eton
and Trinity Hall Cambridge.
A renowned English writer, he is best remembered
for his biographies of poet
and hymnodist William Cowper (1803) and artist
George Romney, written in 1809.
A man of private means, from 1774 he
lived on his Eartham estate in Sussex,
inherited from his father.
Hayley died in 1820, three days after his 75th birthday.
************
The original artist George Romney, born in 1734 was an English portrait
painter who became the most fashionable artist of the day. This work, Sensibility, is one of his many portraits
of Emma, Lady Hamilton; as his muse, she was his source of artistic inspiration as
she performed her “Attitudes”, portrayals of classical scenes
from sculpture and paintings. Romney died in
1802.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
EMMA, LADY
HAMILTON AS
THALIA,
THE MUSE OF COMEDY
titled:-
QUAM VETERES GRAŸ PULCHRAM ESFINXERE THALIAM
ESFICTA EST NOSTRO PULCHRIOR IN LATIO
Engraving by Raffaello Sanzio Morghen (1758 - 1833)
Engraving by Raffaello Sanzio Morghen (1758 - 1833)
after Angelica Kauffman (1741 - 1897)
Displayed in Lady Bullough's Drawing Room in Kinloch Castle the picture
is suffering extensively from foxing brought about by damp and high humidity ... ...
Portrait of
Emma, Lady Hamilton as the Comic Muse Thalia,
eighth of the nine daughters
of Zeus, king of the gods, and Mnemosyne,
goddess of memory, in Greek
mythology.
Photographed in March 2006
Lady Hamilton was painted in a
Lady Hamilton was painted in a
wide range of roles, many of which
were inspired by her
husband’s
collection of antiquities.
In this engraving by
Raphael Morghen, (Raffaello Sanzio Morghen), after the original
work
by Angelica Kauffman, Emma is
portrayed
standing, three-quarter
turned tofront, holding a
curtain
aside with her left hand whilst with her right hand, she holds aloft a
dramatic
comic mask crowned with ivy leaves.
She wears a low neck white gown
with
a voluminous scarf over her right
shoulder, her dark hair falling in
tight ringlet curls over her
shoulders and a broad belt with profile head
and
neck cameo of her husband, Sir William Hamilton.
The
original artist, Angelica Kauffmann was born in Switzerland in 1741.
A
child prodigy, influenced by the fashionable Neo-classical style encountered in
Italy,
she specialised in historical and portrait painting becoming a member at
twenty-three
of the Roman Accademia di San Luca founded in 1577.
 |
| (Frontispiece from: "Memoires de le Lady Hamilton" published Paris 1816) Lady Hamilton painted at the age of 30 years by the famous Romney. (That was in 1795) |
-------------------------------------------
NOTE: There is great
similarity between the head
and shoulders of Lady Hamilton by George Romney (right) “aged 30” (in 1795) as
depicted in the frontispiece to her book, “Memoirs de le Lady Hamilton”
and Raffaello Morghen’s engraving (dated 1797)
after Angelica Kauffmann’s work
reputedly
completed in 1791.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The engraver, Raffaello Sanzio Morghen was born in Naples in 1758 and today is recognised at
one of the greatest engravers of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries. By the tender age of twelve he had published his first engravings.
His first teacher was
his father, Filippo Morghen (1730-1807), a leading engraver in his own right. However,
quickly recognising the talent of his son Filippo sent Raffaello
as a pupil of the
Italian master, Giovanni Volpato,
in order to obtain more advanced training.
Raffaello assisted Volpato in engraving pictures by Raphael (1483-1520)
in the
Vatican, in particular the “Miracle of Bolsena Frescoes.”
By 1778
Raffaello was already established as one of Europe’s leading engravers,
regularly receiving commissions for his beautifully detailed portraits
and religious
and mythological images.
In 1781 Raffaello
married Domencia Volpato, daughter of his former teacher.
In 1793 he was
appointed Professor of Engraving at the academy in Florence.
During his
career he produced over two hundred and fifty original engravings,
one of his
most famous Raphael’s “Transfiguration”.
Raffaello
Morghen died in Florence in 1833 in his seventy-fifth year.
REVIEWED 14 SEPTEMBER 2024
The Rose of Scotland
from stained-glass window in the Great Hall.
GEORGE W. RANDALL
RESEARCH AND PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVE
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