3 minute read
Museum centenary
MUSEUM BRINGS ICONIC EXHIBITION TO LOCHABER TO CELEBRATE CENTENARY
Vanessa Martin The West Highland Museum in Fort William is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year with activities and events to encourage community engagement and visitors back into the museum after the pandemic.
Advertisement
A focal point of the year’s celebrations is a series of 18th century portraits of the Royal House of Stuart in exile. The Return of the Stuarts exhibition is a series of rare paintings which will be shown at the museum from Thursday August 18 to Saturday October 29 2022. The museum has been given exclusive access to a private collection of royal portraiture owned by the Pininski Foundation, Liechtenstein.
Other paintings on display have been loaned by BBC art historian Dr Bendor Grosvenor and John Nicholls MBE and include a painting by Allan Ramsay from the museum’s own collection. The exhibition will include 16 paintings of four generations of the Royal House of Stuart, including James VIII - the Old Pretender - through to Bonnie Prince Charlie and his daughter Charlotte the Duchess of Albany. The series of paintings ends with Charlotte’s daughter Princess Marie Victorie de Rohan. These paintings illustrate the family which inspired Jacobites to risk so much to pursue this ‘affair of the heart’. The planned exhibition will also include the recently rediscovered portrait of a 16-year-old Bonnie Prince Charlie, by renowned Venetian artist Rosalba Carriera. It is believed to be the only portrait of the prince which pre-dates the 1745 Jacobite Rising. This will be a rare opportunity to see these paintings and to hear the story of the exiled Jacobites.
Curator manager Vanessa Martin said: ‘The museum is world famous for its Jacobite collection. The Jacobite Rising started here in Lochaber with Prince Charles Edward Stuart raising his father’s Standard at Glenfinnan on August 19 1745 to instigate the beginning of the last Jacobite Rising. For our centenary we have been offered this wonderful opportunity to present an exhibition of rarely displayed royal portraiture.’ Chairman of directors Ian Peter MacDonald explained: ‘An exhibition of this calibre and local relevance will bring pride to our community and inspire enthusiasts from all over to come and visit our town.’
Entry to the museum is free. Although a small fee is payable for entry to this special exhibition, access to the exhibition is free for Lochaber residents with proof of residency.
To find out more about the museum’s other centenary events and activities, visit its website https://www.westhighlandmuseum.org.uk/centenary. jsp
Delivering All Aspects Of Civil Engineering.
New Build & Extension Groundworks Sewers & Septic Tanks Concrete & Steel Work Kerbing & Paving Works Bell Mouths & Access Roads Tar Surfaced Driveways & Car Parks Cable & Water Pipe Tracks Retaining Walls Excavation Works Excavators For Hire With Operator
Mob. 07528 801393 | info@gordongeorgeconstruction.co.uk
Members John Ferguson & Caroline Ferguson
• First time Buyer • Buy to Let • Home mover • re-mortgages • CapitaL raising • CommerCiaL
(for commercial mortgages we act as introducers)
Call to speak with a Professional Mortgage Adviser for a free initial consultation: 01397 705848
F 01397 703537 m 07899670260 e info@johnferguson-mortgages.co.uk m Morvern, Glen Nevis Fort William PH33 6PF johnferguson-mortgages.co.uk
