Monarch of the Glen May Be Offski – Famous Highland Painting Up for Grabs
Monarch of the Glen May Be Offski –
Famous Highland Painting Up for Grabs
The incredibly well known Landseer painting of a twelve prong stag, called The Monarch of the Glen is up for auction in December at Christie’s of London. It was originally painted in 1851 and was bought by those chaps at John Dewar’s Whisky in 1916 a hundred years ago at the height of World War 1. Dewar’s have since become Diageo and they must feel that this, the very symbol of the Highlands, is a bit like spare change found down the back of the sofa. All in all a handy windfall to spend down the Co-Op.
A Right Royal Stag
The painting is expected to fetch a tidy sum and generate global interest fetching more than £10 million when it goes under the hammer. We’ve all had a chance to see this noble oil painting, as for the last 17 years on loan to the National Museums of Scotland (NMS) lent its owner. Art hounds worldwide are expressing interest and it is highly likely that the monarch will end up abroad, either in the USA or Russia.
Strapped for Cash?
Now a campaign to save the painting for the nation has been launched, but in these straitened times, it isn’t clear if the government has the cash or the will to buy this icon of Scottish heritage at a price tag well above £10 million. Experts are lambasting the Scottish museums and the National Galleries of Scotland for not stumping up. Meanwhile the Scottish government has expressed a hope that Scotland ‘might have access’ to the painting from the new owners, which doesn’t suggest a bid from Holyrood any time soon. Landseer was a favourite of Queen Victoria and we are sure she wouldn’t have been amused.
Stag-ger Away with a Bargain
But all is not lost and we should also look to the present as well as the past, and if you want presents for the present and the future you’ve come to the right place. You’ll have noticed that thestag is our very own symbol and you can stag ger away with some bargains from the lovely Spode Glen lodge Range, like the stag jug, on offer just now.
