William Leighton Leitch (1804-83)
Dupplin Castle dated 1 Nov 1844
Pencil, watercolour and bodycolour | 25.3 x 35.8 cm (whole object) | RCIN 919687
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A watercolour view of Dupplin Castle. Inscribed at bottom left: 'Dupl... Novr 1st 1844', and bearing the Leitch Sale Mark (Lugt 1743).
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert made their first visit to Scotland in September 1842. The royal tour, which lasted two weeks, was largely organised by the 5th Duke of Buccleuch, Lord Lieutenant of the County of Midlothian and Gold Stick of Scotland, and his wife Charlotte, who was Queen Victoria's Mistress of the Robes, in conjunction with the Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel. The Queen and Prince visited the 11th Earl of Kinnoull at Dupplin Castle on 6th September for lunch, on the royal party's way from Dalkeith Palace, the seat of the Duke of Buccleuch, to Scone Palace. Victoria described Dupplin in her journal as "a very fine new house, with a very pretty view of the hills".
This sketch is preparatory for one commissioned by the 5th Duke of Buccleuch as a series of watercolours from Leitch to present to Victoria and Albert as a souvenir of their visit. The artist, William Leighton Leitch, taught the Duchess of Buccleuch watercolour painting, and from 1846 would be Queen Victoria’s own tutor for almost twenty years. However, the watercolours of the 1842 Scottish tour, which were painted in 1844, were not presented to Victoria at the time; she did not receive them until 1888, when the Duke's daughter-in-law Louisa sent them to her in a leather portfolio entitled 'Sketches in Scotland by William Leitch 1842'. See RCIN 919660 for the finished watercolour view of Dupplin Castle that was part of this series.Provenance
Acquired for Queen Victoria at the sale of work from Leitch's studio, Christie's, 13-15 March 1884
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Pencil, watercolour and bodycolour
Measurements
25.3 x 35.8 cm (whole object)
Other number(s)
RL 19687