SIR WILLIAM QUILLER ORCHARDSON R.A., H.R.S.A. (SCOTTISH 1832-1910)PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD AND THE CATHERANS Signed verso, oil on canvas85.5cm x 126.5cm (33.75in x 49.75in)Exhibited:Royal Scottish Academy 1852, no.291 Note: Orchardson is recognised as one of the finest Scottish artists of the Victorian period. A generation taught by Robert Scott Lauder; his peers, with whom he remained close for most of his life, included William McTaggart, Hugh Cameron, Robert Herdman, and John Pettie, the latter of whom moved to London with Orchardson in the 1860s where they went on to share a studio. Though Orchardson found success south of the Border, his career was born into one of the most active and buoyant periods the Scottish art scene has ever experienced. Art and its practitioners were thriving, with over 1000 exhibits in the Royal Scottish Academy each year. Orchardson's new work, exceedingly popular at the time, was always keenly anticipated by the viewing public. Prince Charles Edward and the Catherans was one such painting, exhibited at the RSA in 1852. It was executed early on in his burgeoning career, prior to his move to London around a decade later. It represents a period of Orchardson's work before the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites and Millais had permeated his practice. Rather, it owes a much keener debt to Sir David Wilkie; the gloomy interior illuminated by the glow of candle light; the conspiratorial huddle of figures; a moment poised on the precipice of action. In this fascinating example of his work we can see why the artist would become so famed for his 'costume-interiors'. Art historian Duncan Macmillan, in his comprehensive and influential overview Scottish Art: 1460-1990, spends much time drawing a parallel between the two artists, and praises the narrative subtlety and psychological sensitivity of Orchardson's work at length: 'of all nineteenth-century painters after Wilkie he comes closest to the great novelists of his time. The reason is that like Wilkie he was a master in the observation of the minute nuances of behaviour which betray a person's feelings and state of mind.'The art of the 'High Victorian' period was indeed a time of nostalgia and Romanticism in art; steeped in historical and literary references. The Jacobite Rebellion was inevitably a fertile source of inspiration. Initially stimulated by the publication of Sir Walter Scott's 'Waverley' in 1814, the author went on to facilitate the visit of Kind George IV to Scotland several years later, birthing a new era of popularity for Scottish history and tradition and even the advent of new traditions, such as the creation of clan tartans. Prince Charles Edward and the Catherans depicts Charles Edward Stuart and a band of supporters, or 'caterans' (Highland soldiers) who look fresh from battle; likely their crushing defeat at Culloden. The scene is reminiscent of the famous episode from the Bonnie Prince Charlie legend in which he seeks shelter in 'Cluny's Cave' after the battle, hiding from the English forces sweeping the Highlands in search of his supporters. As the tale goes, Cluny MacPherson, Chief of Clan Chattan, was hiding inside. It is said that the Prince asked for Cluny's plaid because it was thicker than his own, however Cluny refused to give it up but offered to share and the pair slept under the same plaid.