A splendid and monumental celebration of Scotland’s military heritage is to be auctioned at Bonhams Fine Picture sale in Edinburgh on 7 December.
‘The Scottish Volunteer Review, Edinburgh 1905″, (£20,000-30,000) which is over 5 feet wide, is the work of Robert Gemmell Hutchison, one of Scotland’s best loved artists and most famous for his trademark depictions of children playing by the sea shore. The painting is a magnificent tribute both to Hutchison’s home city of Edinburgh and to the massed ranks of the Scottish Regiments. The 40,000 regular and volunteer troops are seen from the vantage point of Arthur’s Seat parading for Edward VII in Holyrood Park (then known as King’s Park) against the majestic backdrop of the Edinburgh skyline. In the foreground, in contrast to the military pomp, a little girl in her Sunday best stares out at the viewer.
Hutchison had explored this theme before in a painting of the famous ‘Wet Review’ of 1881 before Queen Victoria which got its name from the torrential rain which fell so hard all day that the dye in the soldiers’ uniforms ran red. The event not only inspired Hutchison. It also stirred William McGonagall to a characteristically idiosyncratic effort, part of which runs–
“And to the Volunteers it was no lark,
Because they were ankle deep in mud in the Queen’s Park.
Which proved to the Queen they were loyal and true,
To ensure such hardships at the Royal Review”.
For further sale information please go to www.bonhams.com/scotland
