William Leighton Leitch (1804-83)
A distant view of Taymouth Castle dated 21 Oct 1844
Pencil, watercolour and bodycolour | 23.5 x 35.8 cm (whole object) | RCIN 919688
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A watercolour depicting a distant view of Taymouth Castle, with bridge, village and church of Kenmore. Inscribed at bottom left 'Taymouth / Oct.21 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 stayed at Taymouth 7-10th September as guests of the 2nd Marquis of Breadalbane. Victoria described Taymouth Castle in a letter to her uncle Leopold, King of the Belgains, as an "enchanting & Princely place" (Royal Archives, Y90/56/8 September 1842); while there, Victoria and Albert enjoyed a Highland ball held in their honour.
The 5th Duke of Buccleuch commissioned 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 and to which this study is presumably connected, 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 RCINs 919658 and 919659 to see the two finished watercolour views of Taymouth Castle that were 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
23.5 x 35.8 cm (whole object)
Other number(s)
RL 19688