My great-grandfather, the Scottish sculptor, Thomas Weir Stuart Burnett A.R.S.A., had a short but prolific career; from the beginning of his apprenticeship in 1867, until his premature death in 1888, aged only 34.
In the biography that follows, I attempt to give a chronological account of Thomas Stuart Burnett's life and achievements in the art of sculpture, while making some exceptions when events overlapped. Concerning some of the items that my siblings and I have inherited, after obtaining the agreement of all parties, I use the initials of our first names to distinguish the corresponding collections.
As attested by his birth certificate, Thomas Weir Stuart Burnett was born at Greenside, Edinburgh, on the 14th July 1853, the son of Robert Burnet, lithographer, and Ann Burnet (née Stuart). 'The Post Office Edinburgh and Leith directory,' shows that from 1866 onwards, his father, Robert Alexander Burnet, had a lithography business at 2 Saint Cuthbert's place, Edinburgh. It's a mystery as to why Thomas Stuart Burnett added a second 't' to his surname, but Burnet and Burnett are alternative spellings of the same family. Thomas's second Christian name, 'Weir,' was either that of an ancestor, or of a family connection. Weir derives from the Norman, 'Vere,' and is commonly found in Lanarkshire and other historic Scottish counties. In fact, there is a Clan Weir, which is armigerous and recognised as a sept of the Buchanans, the MacNaughtons and the MacFarlanes. The Clan Weir motto, Vero Nihil Verius means 'Truth, nothing but truth.' Thomas's father's surname, Burnet (or Burnett), was that of a well-known Scottish family, while his mother's maiden name, Stuart, was that of a Scottish clan recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon. Although the symbols of their coats of arms are different, the House of Burnett and the Clan Stuart share a common motto: Virescit vulnere virtus, which means 'Courage grows strong at a wound.'
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| Portrait photograph 1, of the Scottish sculptor, Thomas Stuart Burnett. Photograph 15.5 x 10.2 cm., by Alex Asher, 34 Haddington Place, Edinburgh, circa 1885. Photograph Private collection (F). |
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| Portrait photograph 2, of the Scottish sculptor, Thomas Stuart Burnett. by Alex Asher, 34 Haddington Place, Edinburgh, circa 1885. Photograph Private collection (A). |
During his short life, it seems that Thomas Stuart Burnett only used his first Christian name, together with the family names of his mother and father. His close family and friends affectionately called him 'T.S.B.'
During his childhood, T.S.B.'s family home was at 9 Greenside Place, (now completely rebuilt), which was only short walk from the original Theatre Royal (now replaced by the G.P.O. building); and Thomas Stuart Burnett became so fascinated by the backstage arrangements he saw there, that he enjoyed building models of his own design with all the movable stage machinery. He was sent to George Heriot's School of Edinburgh, but he was always more interested in beginning to work for a living. Finally, around 1867, following the recommendation of a relative, Thomas was admitted into the studio of a local sculptor, William Brodie R.S.A., to serve an apprenticeship. This would turn out to be a perfectly-suited path, that would fully reveal his talent and unleash its potential.
1867-1878: A Period of Apprenticeship and two Studio Addresses
While he was working for William Brodie, Thomas Stuart Burnett quickly learnt how to observe, model and sculpt. At the same time he perfected his skills by attending evening classes at the Trustees School of Design, and at the Royal Scottish Academy Life-school.
According to the 'University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII online Mapping Sculpture database,' Thomas Stuart Burnett changed his address twice during his apprenticeship :
From 1870 to 1873, Thomas Stuart Burnett's studio or residence was at 2 St Cuthbert's Place, Edinburgh, Scotland (the same address as his father's lithographic business). From 1871 to 1872, he shared this studio with a fellow sculptor, Alexander Dickson.
From 1873 to 1878, Thomas Stuart Burnett's studio or residence was at 42 Morrison Street, Edinburgh, Scotland.
1867-1875: Evening classes at the Trustees School of Design
From 1867 to 1875, following Brodie's footsteps, Thomas Stuart Burnett attended evening classes at the Trustees School of Design, (the forerunner of the Edinburgh College of Art), and in his last year there, he was awarded a national gold medal by the Science and Art Department, for the best-modelled study from the 'antique.' In the obituary that appeared in 'Art and Literature' (in Appendix 2), Oliver S. Johnston wrote that T.S.B. was much appreciated by a master of the school, Mr Charles Doswell Hodder, who informed him that with his zeal and ability, Burnett had always set an example to follow.
1870-1871: Exhibits at the 44th and 45th Exhibitions of The Royal Scottish Academy
In the spring of 1870, at the 44th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 936, which was a sculpture of a portrait bust.
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1870 exhibit.
In the spring of 1871, at the 45th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 791, a Medallion Portrait; an item 793, a Portrait Bust; and also an item 808, a Medallion Portrait.
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1871 exhibits.
1872-1873: 'Greyfriars Bobby'
William Brodie R.S.A. must have appreciated the talent of his apprentice, because he was to entrust Thomas Stuart Burnett with the sculpture of the statue of 'Greyfriars Bobby:'
There are different versions of the story, but the best-known is the one where the owner of the dog was a Pentland Hills Shepherd, 'Auld Jock' (John Gray), who died and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. His faithful Skye Terrier, called 'Bobby,' then spent the next 14 years sitting at his master’s grave, before dying there on the 14th January 1872. As he was so well-loved by the locals, 'Bobby' had the privilege of also being buried in the same Kirkyard, just inside the gate, but close to where John Gray lay.
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| 'Greyfriars Bobby,' showing the statue on its human and dog fountain base. cc-by-sa/2.0 - © N Chadwick - geograph.org.uk/p/2445609 |
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| 'Greyfriars Bobby,' at the Junction of Candlemaker Row and George IV Bridge, Edinburgh. Michael Reeve, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
Much moved by the story, the Baroness Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, who was the President of the Ladies Committee of the RSPCA, commissioned the Architect David Cousin for a two-level (humans' and dogs') granite drinking fountain, and commissioned the sculptor William Brodie for a statue of Bobby, to be placed on top of it. As attested by Art UK, Brodie chose his apprentice, Thomas Stuart Burnett, to assist him for the life-size bronze statue, that was completed and unveiled at George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, in 1873. The name of the commissioned sculptor, 'WM BRODIE. R.S.A.,' is inscribed on the proximal plinth below the dog’s tail, and though the signature of Thomas Stuart Burnett does not appear there, another sign gives us an indication of his participation: In that same year, 1873, at the 47th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 684, which was a plaster bust entitled 'Wee Bobbie.'
On page 7 of chapter 1, volume 1, of her 1977 Ph.D. thesis, entitled 'Nineteenth Century Scottish Sculpture,' now in the Edinburgh University Library, Robin Lee Woodward confirmed that "One work that was virtually completed by a trainee sculptor is the endearing little statue Greyfriars Bobby in Edinburgh; reputedly this was all but finished by the young T.S. Burnett while a pupil of William Brodie," and she added that the information was supplied by T.S. Burnett's daughter, Mrs A. Munro of Tain.
On the 29th April 1977, the 'Greyfriars Bobby' Fountain, of the George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, became a Category A Listed Building (LB27899), and reputedly Edinburgh's smallest. After being daubed with yellow paint on General Election night in 1979, and hit by a car in 1984, the fountain was restored in 1985.
The cities of San Diego and Edinburgh were twinned in 1978, and after a campaign led by Marie Hitchcock, a puppeteer, a '"Tail" of Two Cities Brother Dogs Project' sculpture exchange was arranged. A bronze copy of 'Bobby' was donated to San Diego, California, United States in August 1997, and there it joined 'Bum' at Pocket Park, (adjacent to the Gaslamp Museum). In return, since its unveiling on the 19th July 2008, a bronze sculpture of the San Diego vagabond dog, 'Bum,' sculpted by Jessica McCain, USA, now lies in Princes Street Gardens near the King's Stables Road entrance - at the far end of the territory that 'Greyfriars Bobby' is said to have roamed.
1873-1876: Exhibits at the 47th, 48th, 49th and 50th Exhibitions of The Royal Scottish Academy
In the spring of 1873, at the 47th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 681, a Medallion Portrait; an item 684, a Bust in Plaster : 'Wee Bobbie;' and an item 947, a sculpture of an 'Old Mill, near Edinburgh.'
Concerning the item 684, we note that 'Wee Bobbie' was exhibited by Thomas Stuart Burnett in the same year that he had been William Brodie's assistant for 'Greyfriars Bobby.'
Concerning the item 947, perhaps Thomas Stuart Burnett's 'Old Mill' had moving parts, like his childhood models of stage machineries.
Unfortunately we have no further information about the 1873 exhibits.
In the spring of 1874, at the 48th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 598, a sculpture Bust of a Gentleman; and an item 607, a sculpture Bust of Mr. David Raiker.
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1874 exhibits.
In the spring of 1875, at the 49th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 665, a Miniature Portrait Bust; an item 691, 'Alice' : a sculpture Portrait Bust; and also an item 879, a sculpture 'At Juniper Green.'
Concerning the item 691, 'Alice' could have been a close family relation.
Concerning the item 879: As Juniper Green is a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, situated about 5.5 miles south-west of the city centre, we can presume that the sculpture might have been an architectural model of part of it.
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1875 exhibits.
In the spring of 1876, at the 50th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 759, a Miniature Portrait Bust : Mrs. Dougal; and an item 771, a Miniature Portrait Bust : Andrew Dougal, Esq.
On the 3rd September 1874, one of Thomas Stuart Burnett's sisters, Ann (or Anna) Burnet, had married Andrew Dougal, in Edinburgh, and the two miniature portraits were almost certainly of this couple.
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1876 exhibits.
1875-1880: Studies at the Royal Scottish Academy Life-school at Edinburgh, and in 1878, a brief attempt to establish at London, before returning to start a practice in Edinburgh
Thomas Stuart Burnett entered the Royal Scottish Academy Life-School near the end of 1875, and studied there for five years, with a brief break: In 1878, Thomas Stuart Burnett's apprenticeship with William Brodie came to an end, and he moved to London to attempt to establish a practice there. This was to prove unsuccessful, and after a few months he returned to the family home, then at 23 Union Place, Edinburgh, Scotland, to embark as a sculptor on his own account. He is recorded to have had his studio and / or residence at 23 Union Place until 1882, except during the year 1881 when he stayed with William Geddes at Gowanbrae Cottage, Perth Street, Perth.
During his time at the Royal Scottish Academy Life-school, Thomas Stuart Burnett won three major prizes which included; a special prize for sculpture studies in 1877; the sculpture prize in 1879; and the Stuart prize, for his original group, 'Eugene Aram' in 1880. On the pages 36 and 193 of the 'Biographical and Descriptive Catalogue' of her 1977 Ph.D. thesis, entitled 'Nineteenth Century Scottish Sculpture,' now in the Edinburgh University Library, Robin Lee Woodward indicated that Thomas Stuart Burnett shared the Stuart Prize with William Birnie Rhind. The result of the Stuart prize was therefore a draw between second cousins; their common ancestors being their great grandparents John Rhind and Helen Gill Dingwall, who had married at Banff on the 29th January 1798.
The Public Statues and Sculpture Association (PSSA), also states that, during the period that Thomas Stuart Burnett attended classes at the Royal Scottish Academy Life School, he won a gold medal in the national competitions for his figure of 'Antinous,' a favourite and lover of the Romain emperor Hadrian.
1876: Margaret Irving
Margaret was the daughter of James Irving and Mary Irving (née Thwaite). Margaret’s father was a bootmaker who opened a high-class boot and shoe shop at 51 South bridge, Edinburgh, and her mother (of French Huguenot extraction) embroidered the fronts of evening slippers. Margaret's brothers were James Thwaite Irving, an artist who trained with the impressionists in Barbizon, France, and Thomas Irving, a gifted violinist and fine watercolour artist, who would emigrate to Canada.
In 1876, Thomas Stuart Burnett sculpted the following plaster bust of Margaret Irving:
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| Margaret Irving A painted plaster bust on a socle, ht. 33.5 cm, signed and dated under the shoulders "T. Stuart Burnett Sc 1876". Private collection (F). |
Margaret Irving would marry Thomas Stuart Burnett six years later, on the 17th August 1882.
1877: 'Fitz James and Blanche of Devan'
The following photograph and notes come from a 1988 correspondence, that took place between Helen Smailes, who was then an assistant at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, (and has since become a Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), the Scottish National Gallery), and my aunt Rosemary Mackenzie, née Munro, granddaughter of Thomas Stuart Burnett, (herself a local historian). Incidentally, just six years later, my aunt Rosemary would be the subject of a moving obituary, written by my brother Sandy Walkington, and published in 'The Scotsman' of the 25th March 2004.
Please note that although I have obtained the authorisation from the National Galleries Scotland to use their photograph below, I have been unable to find the contact details of the rights holders of the sculpture itself. My best efforts have been made to trace current owners of the sculpture depicted, and the image is therefore reproduced in all good faith. The sculpture was initially recorded by the National Galleries Scotland in a private collection in Galashiels back in 1985, but the artworks have since been dispersed:
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| 'Fitz James and Blanche of Devan' Plaster (irregular) bas-relief, 86 x 100 cm, by Thomas Stuart Burnett. Photograph © National Galleries Scotland. Inscribed on a label pasted to the back of the frame: Fitz James and Blanche of Devan 'Seest thou this tress? -O! still I've worn This little tress of yellow hair, Through danger, frenzy, and despair' Vide Lady of the Lake Thos. S. Burnett Sculptor 42 Morrison Street Edinburgh 1877. | |
Thomas Stuart Burnett seems to have never exhibited this bas-relief at the Royal Scottish Academy. The subject was drawn from Sir Walter Scott’s poem, 'The Lady of the Lake,' canto IV, XXVII.
Five years later, in 1882, Thomas Stuart Burnett would have the honour of sculpting three statuettes for the Scott Monument of Princes Street, Edinburgh.
1877-1878: Exhibits at the 51st and 52nd Exhibitions of the Royal Scottish Academy
In the spring of 1877, at the 51st Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 686, a cast sculpture 'The Hunter' : Statuette in Plaster.
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1877 exhibit.
In the spring of 1878, at the 52nd Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 749, a sculpture Miniature Bust of a Lady; an item 751, a Statuette in Plaster : 'The Reaper;' an item 759, a sculpture Miniature Bust of a Lady; and an item 766, a sculpture Portrait Bust of Ebenezer H. Murray, Esq.
Concerning the item 751, 'The Reaper,' a Mapping of Sculpture description given by Pamela Ingram, states that it depicts 'A woman carrying a sickle and wheat, wearing simple clothes (a blouse and skirt and carrying her bonnet). The statuette is 960mm tall, made of plaster of paris and painted.' A newspaper cutting from 'The Scotsman,' in March 1878 gives the following description: 'Another work of the same class is T. S. Burnett’s “Reaper” (751), reproducing with tasteful literalism, and some grace of design, the figure and garb of a buxom rustic.'
The statuette 'The Reaper' would later be exhibited, at the Kirkcaldy Fine Art Exhibition of 1878 (547) and also put on sale for £12 12, at the Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee of 1879 (1320). Please refer to the sections '1878: Exhibits at the Fine Art Exhibition of Kirkcaldy' and '1879: Exhibits at the 3rd Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee.'
Concerning the item 766, Ebenezer H. Murray, Esq. was a Scottish/Australian Artist active between 1880 and 1886. Three of his paintings are in the Paisley Museum and Art Galleries. We note that in 1884, he exhibited an item 3 at the 9th Exhibition of Paisley, which was a painting entitled 'Character Head. Effie Deans.' Ebenezer Murray’s subject could have been inspired by his contact with Thomas Stuart Burnett, who sculpted 'Effie Deans' for the Scott Monument in 1882. Ebenezer Murray is also known for other paintings, such as 'The Inquisitor,' 'The Farmer's Address to his Auld Mare' (inspired by Robert Burns?), 'Greetin’ the Bairn,' and 'Mother and Child with dog.' In 1887, Ebenezer Murray migrated to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, where, unable to make a living by painting, he turned to commercial work and cartooning. He died in Australia in 1913.
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1878 exhibits.
1878: Exhibits at the Fine Art Exhibition of Kirkcaldy
Helen Smailes, a Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), Scottish National Gallery, has kindly supplied the following information about the 1878 Kirkcaldy Exhibition; a copy of which is held by the National Library of Scotland (shelf mark: 3.2678 (2)). It's lengthy title reads as follows:
'Notes in Pen and Pencil, Appreciative and Otherwise, of the Kirkcaldy Fine Art Exhibition for 1878. Edited by One of the Hundred and Fifty, "Owing to want of space, we have been obliged to reject nearly 150 Pictures."- Private Letter from Secretary. With Ninety-Three Illustrations (Kirkcaldy 1878, published by John Bryson, 294 High Street).'
The three sculptors that were represented were Thomas Stuart Burnett, Donald Campbell Haggart (2 exhibits), and George Webster. There were only four pieces of sculpture exhibited, and the list on page 63 includes the item 'No 547, "The Reaper". By T S Burnett. A nicely modelled figure in plaster.'
Concerning the item 547, a 'Statuette in Plaster : 'The Reaper;' had previously been exhibited at the 52nd Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of 1878 (751). A statuette 'The Reaper' would later be exhibited, on sale for £12 12, at the Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee of 1879 (1320). Please refer to the sections '1877-1878: Exhibits at the 51st and 52nd Exhibitions of the Royal Scottish Academy' and '1879: Exhibits at the 3rd Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee.'
In 1882, George Webster sculpted a character statuette of 'Julia Mannering' (from Walter Scott's 'Waverley novel,' 'Guy Mannering', 1815), and thus worked alongside Thomas Stuart Burnett, who sculpted three other statuettes for the Scott Monument. Please refer to the section '1882: Three Statuettes for the Scott Monument in Edinburgh.'
1879: Exhibits at the 53rd Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy
In the spring of 1879, at the 53rd Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 758, a sculpture Bust : William Hannah, Esq.; an item 767, a sculpture Bust : James Wilson, Esq.; an item 770, a sculpture Bust : John Blair, Esq.; and an item 771, a statuette : 'The Putting-Stone.'
Concerning the item 770, the bust of John Blair, Esq. could have been one of the Scottish painter with that name.
Concerning the item 771, 'The Putting-Stone' refers to the stone put events of Highland games. According to Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, 'The Putting Stone' statuette was awarded a Sculpture prize. We note that a sculpture 'Putting the Stone,' was exhibited at the 18th Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts of 1879 (710), but although the titles were evidently similar, the sculptures may have been essentially different. The same observation applies to a statuette in plaster, 'Putting the Stone,' exhibited, on sale for £12 12, at the 3rd Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee of 1879 (1334). Please refer to the sections '1879: Exhibit at the 18th Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts' and '1879: Exhibits at the 3rd Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee.'
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1879 exhibits.
1879: Exhibit at the 18th Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts
In February to April 1879, at the 18th Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 710, a sculpture 'Putting the Stone,' on sale for £13. This was not declared as being the same as the statuette : 'The Putting-Stone,' that had been previously exhibited that same year at the 53rd Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy (771), and though the themes were evidently similar, the sculptures may have been essentially different. Again, a statuette in plaster, 'Putting the Stone,' was later exhibited, and put on sale for £12 12 at the Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee of 1879 (1334). Please refer to the section '1879: Exhibits at the 3rd Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee.'
1879: Memorial Monument to Kenneth Murray of Geanies, Provost of Tain, Ross-Shire
Kenneth Murray of Geanies, the Provost of Tain, had died in 1876. As he was so highly esteemed, not only in Ross-Shire, but all over the north of Scotland, there was a general consensus that a memorial should be erected to commemorate his worth and usefulness. So many voluntary subscriptions came for the project, that a half of the money was put aside as a university bursary in connection with the Tain Royal Academy, while the other half was reserved for the monument. A competition ensued, and thirty-six designs were received from all over the country. The winner was Mr Laurence Beveridge, sculptor, of Edinburgh, for the Gothic style monument in freestone masonry; while Thomas Stuart Burnett, sculptor, of Edinburgh won the contract for the centrepiece: a marble bust of the deceased. A complete account of the ceremony and more details about the architecture is given in newspaper articles (in Appendix 6). Quite coincidentally, this monument is at just a five-minute walk from Alderbrae, which would become the family home of Thomas Stuart Burnett's second daughter, Anna Winnifred Stuart Burnett, Artist D.A; who, born in 1884, would, in 1913, marry William John Munro, the District Clerk of Tain.
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| The Kenneth Murray Monument, Tain CC BY-SA 2.0 Simon at British Listed Buildings |
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| Kenneth Murray, sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett CC BY-SA 2.0 Simon at British Listed Buildings |
On the 29th October 1982, the High Street Kenneth Murray Monument, including the bust by Thomas Stuart Burnett, became a Category B Listed Building (LB418471).
1879: Exhibits at the 3rd Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee
The following catalogue entries, were kindly supplied by Kirsty Matheson, Art Curator of the McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum:
From the 1st May to the beginning of September 1879, at the 3rd Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 1320, 'The Reaper,' a statuette in plaster, on sale for £12 12; and an item 1334, 'Putting the Stone,' a statuette in plaster, on sale fo £12 12.
Concerning the item 1320, this was probably the same as a Statuette in Plaster : 'The Reaper,' that had previously been exhibited at the R.S.A. of 1878 (751), and 'The Reaper,' previously exhibited at the Kirkcaldy Fine Art Exhibition of 1878 (547). Please refer to the sections '1877-1878: Exhibits at the 51st and 52nd Exhibitions of the Royal Scottish Academy' and '1878: Exhibits at the Fine Art Exhibition of Kirkcaldy.'
Concerning the item 1334, a statuette : 'The Putting-Stone,' had been previously exhibited that same year at the 53rd Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy (771), and though the themes were evidently similar, the sculptures may have been essentially different. This was also probably the same as the sculpture 'Putting the Stone,' previously exhibited and put on sale for £13 at the R.G.I.F.A. of 1879 (710). Please refer to the section '1879: Exhibit at the 18th Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts.'
1880: Exhibits at the 54th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy
In the spring of 1880, at the 54th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 776, 'Girlhood' : Original Model; an item 787, a sculpture Bust of Norman M. Henderson, Esq.; and also an item 790, a Study of a Head : 'Rip Van Winkle.'
Concerning the item 776, an item 1394, 'Girlhood: Original model for statue,' was exhibited, on sale in plaster for £45, or in marble for £172 0, at the 4th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee in 1880 (1394). Please refer to the section '1880: Exhibits at the 4th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee.'
Concerning the item 790, it may have been the same 'Rip van Winkle' as the terracotta head, that was later exhibited and put on sale for £4 4, at the 4th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee in 1880 (1386). Please refer to the section '1880: Exhibits at the 4th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee.'
A newspaper cutting from 'The Scotsman,' in 1880, reads as follows: 'There is a certain quiet charm of simplicity and sweetness in T.S. Burnett’s “Girlhood” (776), though the limbs should have been finer in form; and in a head of Rip Van Winkle (790), the same artist has vividly realised an expression of wild bewilderment.'
A newspaper cutting from 'The Peeblesshire Advertiser,' of 1880, reads as follows: 'T. S. Burnett’s model entitled “Girlhood” is a pleasing work of art, as also is his “Rip Van Winkle.”'
The American author, Washington Irving, had first published his short story 'Rip Van Winkle' in 1819.
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1880 exhibits.
1880: 'Innocence'
On page 39 of the 'Biographical and Descriptive Catalogue,' of her 1977 Ph.D. thesis, 'Nineteenth Century Scottish Sculpture,' now in the Edinburgh University Library, Robin Lee Woodward mentioned a plaster, 'Innocence,' dated 1880, which at the time of writing was in the possession of Miss M. Stuart Burnett (my grandaunt 'Madge'), and was a study of a child:
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| 'Innocence' A painted plaster bust on a socle, Ht. 49.5cm, signed and dated T.S.Burnett Sc 1880. Modelled by Thomas Stuart Burnett, this bust is of the sculptor's niece, Anna Dougal. Private collection (H). |
A photograph of Thomas Stuart Burnett in a studio, shows him talking to someone, (probably the father of the girl), about this plaster bust, which was placed for that occasion on an ornamental column. As my Aunt Rosemary Mackenzie has written 'Anna Dougal' behind the photograph, we deduce that she had been the inspiration of 'Innocence.'
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| Thomas Stuart Burnett presenting 'Innocence' in a studio, 1880. Anna Dougal was the inspiration of this plaster bust 'Innocence.' Photograph 9.5 x 5.7 cm. on card by P. F. Patrick of 14 Antigua Street, Edinburgh. Photograph Private Collection (W). |
Our Aunt Rosemary Mackenzie often told us that Anna Dougal was T.S.B.'s niece, and this is confirmed by concordant indicia: Thomas Stuart Burnett had already exhibited an item 759, a Miniature Portrait Bust : Mrs. Dougal, as well as an item 771, a Miniature Portrait Bust : Andrew Dougal, Esq., at the 50th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1876. One of Thomas Stuart Burnett's sisters, Ann (or Anna) Burnett, had married Andrew Dougal, in Edinburgh, on the 3rd September 1874, and it is likely that this couple were not only the subject of the above-mentioned miniature portrait busts, but also the parents of Anna Dougal, the inspiration of 'Innocence.'
'Innocence' was modelled in 1880, five years after Anna Dougal's birth on the 29th July 1875, and two years prior to the marriage between Thomas Stuart Burnett and Margaret Irving. The courting couple had most certainly met during sittings for Margaret's plaster bust in 1876, and interestingly, T.S.B.'s future brother-in-law, James Thwaite Irving, also painted Anna Dougal in one of his watercolours, circa 1881, about a year before Thomas's marriage with Margaret on the 17th August 1882.
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| A Helper in Thomas Stuart Burnett's Studio With 2 'Innocence' plaster busts, and perhaps 'The Putting-Stone?' c.1880 Photograph 9.9 x 7.6 cm. on card by Anonymus. Photograph Private Collection (W). |
We have been told by our Aunt Rosemary Mackenzie that one or more of T.S.B.'s helpers were Italian. The photograph above shows a member of Thomas Stuart Burnett's staff, with what appears to be two plaster busts of 'Innocence,' and perhaps we are seeing 'The Putting-Stone' statuette standing on a bench in the background. A strange detail in this photograph is an object that looks vaguely like a skull, placed on a stool in the foreground.
In the spring of 1881, at the 55th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 727, a Marble Bust : 'The Innocent.' Although the title did not exactly match 'Innocence,' it might well have been a marble version of the bust of Anna Dougal.
1880: Exhibits at the 4th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee
The following catalogue entries, were kindly supplied by Kirsty Matheson, Art Curator of the McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum:
From the 19th June to the beginning of October 1880, at the 4th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 1386, 'Rip van Winkle,' Study of a Head in Terracotta, on sale for £4 4; an item 1388, a 'Bust of G. W. Johnstone;' an item 1394, 'Girlhood: Original model for statue,' on sale in plaster for £45, or in marble for £172 0; and an item 1398, a 'Bust of C. Martin Hardie.'
Concerning the item 1386, it may have been the same 'Rip van Winkle' as the one previously exhibited at the R.S.A. of 1880 (790). Please refer to the section '1880: Exhibits at the 54th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy.'
Concerning the item 1388, George Whitton Johnstone was a Scottish artist who was particularly skilled in landscape painting, and was probably Thomas Stuart Burnett's closest friend. He would be T.S.B.'s best man at his marriage in 1882. For more information about George Whitton Johnstone, please refer to the section '1882: Marriage with Margaret Irving.'
Concerning the item 1394, it may have been the same as 'Girlhood: Original model,' which had been previously exhibited at the R.S.A. of 1880 (776). Please refer to the section '1880: Exhibits at the 54th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy.'
Concerning the item 1398, Charles Martin Hardie was a Scottish artist and portrait painter, who would later exhibit, at the R.S.A. of 1883, the famous painting, 'Friendly Critics,' which depicted a group of artists that not only included George Whitton Johnstone, but also the sculptor Thomas Stuart Burnett. For further details, please refer to the section '1882-1883: Charles Martin Hardie's "Friendly Critics."'
1880-1881: With the Blairgowrie Boys and William Geddes
William Geddes was the central figure of a small group of painters known as The 'Blairgowrie Boys,' (despite the fact that one of its members was Jane Elizabeth Spindler!). At first he was a self-taught artist, having started as a house painter. William Geddes then visited Paris in 1871, and returned there in 1875, studying for two months in the Louvre. An interesting biography by John Bennett differs slightly from the version by Christie's, which states that it was during his second stay in Paris, that Geddes was arrested as a spy! William Geddes became well known as a painter of scenes from Scottish life, and especially as a painter of fish. He exhibited 4 times at the Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts and 6
times at the Royal Scottish Academy. At the Royal Scottish Academy of
1882, he would win a Gold Medal and £50, for the best genre painting.
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| William Geddes Painted plaster bust, on plinth, ht. 66 cm., n.d., circa 1880, by Thomas Stuart Burnett. Accession number: 1998.418, at Perth Museum. Courtesy of Culture Perth & Kinross Museums & Galleries. |
William Geddes’s diary for 1880 refers to the ‘sittings’ for his sculptor friend during the latter’s visits to Gowanbrae Cottage. Later, as recorded by the Scottish Census of 1881, Thomas Stuart Burnett, who was also a member of the Blairgowrie Boys, was staying with the painter William Geddes, at Gowanbrae Cottage in the Parish of Blairgowrie; and this is confirmed by notes on the pages of Mapping of Sculpture. The 66cm-high undated plaster portrait bust of William Geddes, was exhibited by Thomas Stuart Burnett at the Dundee Fine Art Exhibition of December 1881.
In 1998, the bust was donated by William Geddes’s great-granddaughter, Mrs Woods, to the Perth Museum and Art Gallery, and it is now on display there as object n° 1998.418.
1880-1881: 'Eugene Aram'
Executed during 1880, his last year at the Royal Scottish Academy Life-school of Edinburgh, 'Eugene Aram' was the plaster sculpture for which Thomas Stuart Burnett won the Stuart prize.
Inspired by Thomas Hood’s poem, 'The Dream of Eugene Aram,' Thomas Stuart Burnett portrayed the philologist-murderer, 'Eugene Aram,' as the remorseful Usher of King's Lynn Grammar School confessing a horrid crime, that was 'nothing but a dream,' to a young schoolboy. The sculpture illustrated the following lines:
'And down he sat
beside the lad,
And talked with him of
Cain;'
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| 'Eugene Aram' view 1, a marble sculpture by Thomas Stuart Burnett 1881. Photograph 14 x 10.2 cm. on card by P.F. Patrick of Forfar & Dundee. Photograph Private Collection (W). |
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| 'Eugene Aram' view 2, a marble sculpture by Thomas Stuart Burnett 1881. Photograph 13.6 x 10.4 cm. on card by P.F. Patrick of Forfar & Dundee. Photograph Private Collection (W). |
The above illustrations come from original card-mounted photographs that were taken by the studio of P.F. Patrick of Forfar and Dundee. As this was the marble version of the group, it would have been photographed circa 1882.
In the spring of 1881, at the 55th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 743, the sculpture of the Stuart Prize Group : 'Eugene Aram.' Lent by A.D. Grimond, Glenericht, with notes 'to be erected in marble.'
In 1882-1883, at the 6th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 1746, 'Eugene Aram' - Group; original model (executed in marble for A.D. Grimond, Esq., Glenericht). This was presumably the original plaster model, lent by A.D. Grimond, Esq.
In 1883, at the 57th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 798, a Group in Marble : 'Eugene Aram.'
In 1886, at the 2nd Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 496, a sculpture group 'Eugene Aram,' executed in marble for A.D. Grimond, Esq., of Dundee.
Please refer to the sections '1881: Exhibits at the 55th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy,' '1882-1883: Exhibits at the 6th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee' '1883: Exhibits at the 57th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy' and '1886: Exhibits at the 2nd Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists.'
The marble 'Eugene Aram' sculpture reappeared in 1969, when it was gifted to the Texas State University by the Class of 1913, at Homecoming 1969, just months after Apollo 11 had landed on the moon. Mr. Floyd Gates presented the sculpture on behalf of the
1881: Commissions received from Alexander Dick Grimond of Dundee
According to John Bennett's interesting biography, William Geddes's social circle included not only the Blairgowrie boys, but also gallery owners and locals like the Grimond family of Oakbank. It is therefore quite likely that it was William Geddes and his circle of friends who, in 1881, had introduced Thomas Stuart Burnett to an important jute merchant, Alexander Dick Grimond of Dundee. Grimond, very impressed by the 'Eugene Aram' sculpture group, commissioned a marble version of it, and appears to have also acquired the original plaster version which he subsequently lent to be exhibited by T.S.B. at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1881 (743). A marble version of the 'Eugene Aram' group was later presented at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1883 (798). Grimond also gave Burnett a commission for a portrait bust, and although the present whereabouts of that bust and the plaster version of 'Eugene Aram' are unknown, the marble version of the 'Eugene Aram' sculpture has since reappeared in the United States, donated to the Texas State University in 1969. These were Thomas Stuart Burnett’s first important commissions, and they helped pay for a visit to Paris, Rome and Florence at the end of 1881. For more details about 'Eugene Aram' please refer to the section '1880-1881: 'Eugene Aram.'
1881: Exhibits at the 55th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy
In the spring of 1881, at the 55th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 727, a Marble Bust : 'The Innocent;' an item 733, a sculpture of William Grubb, Esq., Dundee; an item 734, a sculpture of The late Thomas Sprot, Esq., W.S.; and an item 743, the sculpture of the Stuart Prize Group : 'Eugene Aram.' Lent by A.D. Grimond, Glenericht, with notes 'to be erected in marble.'
Concerning the item 727, a Marble Bust : 'The Innocent,' it may have been of Anna Dougal. Please refer to the section '1880: Innocence.'
Concerning the item 733, a bust of William Grubb, Esq was exhibited later that year at the 5th Fine Art Exhibition of
the Albert Institute of Dundee of 1881-1882 (1600). Please refer to the section '1881-1882: Exhibits at the 5th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee.'
Concerning the item 734, Thomas Sprot, Esq., who was born in Edinburgh in 1800 and died at Buxton in Derbyshire in 1880, was Writer to the Signet.
Concerning the item 743, the 'Eugene Aram' group, which was lent by A.D. Grimond, it has already been discussed in the section '1880-1881: Eugene Aram.' As there are notes that this group was 'to be executed in marble,' we can suppose that the version exhibited in 1881 was the original plaster sculpture. A marble version was to be presented at the 1883 exhibition of the R.S.A. (798).
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1881 exhibits, apart from the following newspaper cuttings:
A newspaper cutting from 'The Scotsman,' in 1881, reads as follows: 'An effective piece of pictorial sculpture presents itself in T.S. Burnett’s “Eugene Aram” (743) – a Stuart Prize group – where the figures are individually well conceived, come well together, and in the sombre look of the one and the half-scared attention of the other aptly realise the dramatic situation … while T.S. Burnett’s “Innocent” (727) attracts the eye as at once effective in light and shade, and a sympathetic rendering of child-like vivacity.'
A newspaper cutting from 'The Southern Reporter,' in 1881, reads as follows: 'T. Stuart Burnett shows considerable power and originality of design in a group of 'Eugene Aram' and the boy. We think it is scarcely possible to get a truer exponent of the subject than this meritorious group. He has admirably caught, in the expression of 'Eugene Aram,' the mental agony going on within his breast, which contrasts strongly with the innocent expression on the boy’s face.'
A less enthusiastic newspaper cutting from The Dundee Advertiser, on the 24th February 1881, reads as follows: 'The most noticeable piece of statuary is the “Stuart Prize Group – Eugene Aram” (743), by T. Stuart Burnett. The features of the two characters are well conceived and executed, although the boy’s face might have had a shade more intelligence imparted to it without seriously affecting the story.'
1881: 'The Bather'
In the spring of 1882, at the 56th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett was to exhibit an item 758, a sculpture entitled 'The Bather.'
In Thomas Stuart Burnett's obituary, that appeared in 'Art and Literature' 1888, vol. I, p 74, (Appendix 2), Oliver S. Johnston described 'The Bather' as follows: 'It represents a boy of about fourteen years of age seated on a rock drying himself after bathing. The composition of lines is charmingly suggestive of the spontaneous and unconscious grace of young boyhood; the modelling shows not only a conscientious study of the actual model, but the presence of an affectionate eye and a sympathetic spirit, bent upon interpreting those special qualities of surface and gesture which make for the idea of boyishness. These works at once established his position as a rising light in his profession.'
'The Bather' was again exhibited and put on sale for £300 at the 6th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee, from October 1882 to January 1883 (1738), before being exhibited once more, at the Twenty-Second Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists at The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, in 1883, (904), also on sale for £300. But according to Oliver S. Johnston's obituary of Thomas Stuart Burnett (quoted above), 'The Bather' would not be sold until after the sculptor's death.
On page 39 of the 'Biographical and Descriptive Catalogue' of her 1977 Ph.D. thesis entitled 'Nineteenth Century Scottish Sculpture,'
After sending an email enquiry on the 2nd April 2025, it was therefore with much interest that I opened the email response sent to me on the 9th April, by Alexandrina McGrory, the Head of External Relations at the High School of Dundee. She had kindly explored a few lines of enquiry, and had found an 1896 'Bazaar' publication by the Dundee High School Athletics Union, concerning a fund-raising operation for the school playing fields, together with a photograph of an Antique Room that would have then been part of the school premises:
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| The Antique Room An art class at the High School of Dundee, with Thomas Stuart Burnett's 'The Bather' in the background, circa 1896. Photograph by M. and T. Scott, Photo-Engravers, Edinburgh, from the 'Bazaar' of the Dundee High School Athletics Union, 1896. By courtesy of the High School of Dundee. |
Behind a group of art students, who seemed absorbed by their paintings, there was a group of classical statues on wooden pedestals, together with 'The Bather,' which appeared, almost ghostlike, in the central background!
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| 'The Bather' Thomas Stuart Burnett's sculpture in the background of a photograph of an art class at the High School of Dundee, circa 1896. Photograph by M. and T. Scott, Photo-Engravers, Edinburgh, from the 'Bazaar' of the Dundee High School Athletics Union, 1896. By courtesy of the High School of Dundee. | |
It's difficult to judge the dimension of 'The Bather,' but considering its rearward position in the photograph, it might be between 110 and 125cm high.
As to the current whereabouts of 'The Bather,' it is unknown, and the search therefore continues!
1881-1882: Exhibits at the 5th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee
The following catalogue entries, were kindly supplied by Kirsty Matheson, Art Curator of the McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum:
From the 1st October 1881 to the beginning of January 1882, at the 5th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 1600, a Bust of William Grubb, Esq.; and an item 1601, a Bust of William Geddes, Esq.
Concerning the item 1600, a sculpture of William Grubb, Esq., Dundee had been exhibited earlier that year at the R.S.A. of 1881 (733). Please refer to the section '1881: Exhibits at the 55th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy.'
Concerning the item 1601, Thomas Stuart Burnett was one of the 'Blairgowrie Boys,' and in 1881, had been staying with William Geddes, at Gowanbrae Cottage, in the Parish of Blairgowrie, Perth & Kinross, Scotland. The bust of William Geddes is now an exhibit at the Perth Museum and Art Gallery, (object n° 1998.418). Please refer to the section '1880-1881: With the Blairgowrie Boys and William Geddes.'
1881: A Study Visit of Paris, Rome and Florence
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| Thomas Stuart Burnett in Florence, 1881 Photografo MONTABONE, 3 Via Banchi, Firenze. Photograph Private Collection (W). |
In the autumn of 1881, Thomas Stuart Burnett visited Paris, Rome and Florence, and was much inspired by his discovery of the master-pieces of sculpture and painting in these cities. At Florence he modelled his 'Bust of a Florentine Priest' - a particularly fine piece, for which he used techniques acquired through the observation of the works of French and Italian sculptors.
1881-1882: 'Bust of a Florentine Priest'
1881: The Plaster Version of a Florentine Priest
The following 'Bust of a Florentine Priest' is probably the original plaster version that Thomas Stuart Burnett modelled at Florence during his study visit:
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| 'Bust of a Florentine Priest' by Thomas Stuart Burnett, 1881, in plaster, H 67 x W 40 x D 24 cm. Image © National Museums Scotland |
The plaster bust 'Florentine Priest' was exhibited at the 6th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee, that began in October 1882 (1761). We know that the marble version of 'Florentine Priest,' that had been exhibited at the 56th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy of spring 1882 (740), was purchased there for £75 by the Royal Association for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in Scotland, and became a prize of a R.A.P.F.A.S. lottery on the 5th August 1882, before being shipped to Australia. So the marble version could not have been at the Dundee Exhibition in October 1882, and it must have been the plaster version that was presented.
From the 6th October 1883 to the 5th January 1884, at the 7th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 1470, an 'Italian Head' - Original Study in Plaster, for sale at £25. However, we do not know if this was a 'Bust of a Florentine Priest' or another Italian head.
After Thomas Stuart Burnett's death, the posthumous exhibits of his work that were presented at the 1888 International Exhibition of Glasgow, included an item 1597, 'A Florentine Priest,' (though the catalogue does not state whether this was the plaster bust or the marble version).
The plaster bust was gifted to the National Museum of Scotland in 2011 (Accession number K.2013.1).
Helen Smailes, a Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), Scottish National Gallery, has kindly brought to my attention that 'A plaster group [sic.] raised on a socle base 65.5cm high,' entitled 'A Florentine Preist [sic.],' was was on sale as lot 174, at a Bonhams auction in Edinburgh, on the 12th September 2012. As it was described by Bonhams as being 'After Thomas Burnett,' this probably meant that it was a copy, and not modelled by T.S.B. himself.
1882: The Marble Version of a Florentine Priest
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| 'Head of a Florentine Priest' by Thomas Stuart Burnett, 1882, in marble, height 67.30cm. Photograph © National Galleries of Scotland |
In the spring of 1882, at the 56th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 740, a sculpture Bust : 'Study of a Florentine Priest;' This was the marble version, dated 1882, that was purchased at the exhibition for £75, by the Royal Association for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in Scotland. Founded in 1834, R.A.P.F.A.S. played a key role in the development of the National Gallery, at a time when the governing trustees (the Board of Manufactures) had no funds to make purchases. This would be the beginning of a saga that would only end when the bust would finally be donated to the National Galleries of Scotland in 1897 (Accession number NG 811). Helen Smailes, a Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), Scottish National Gallery, brought the R.A.P.F.A.S. records to my attention, and has kindly authorised me to reproduce her transcripts of the R.A.P.F.A.S. minute book (in Appendix 4).
After Thomas Stuart Burnett's death, the posthumous exhibits of his work that were presented at the 1888 International Exhibition of Glasgow, included the item 1597, 'A Florentine Priest,' (though the catalogue does not state whether this was the plaster bust or the marble version).
Also after T.S.B.'s death, the marble 'Head of a Florentine Priest' was lent by the N.G.S. to be posthumously exhibited at the 90th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy
of 1916 (29).
1882: Exhibits at the 56th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy
In the spring of 1882, at the 56th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 738, a sculpture Portrait Bust of a Lady; an item 740, a sculpture Bust : 'Study of a Florentine Priest;' and an item 758, a sculpture 'The Bather.'
Concerning the item 738, a Portrait Bust of a Lady was perhaps that of Margaret Irving, Thomas Stuart Burnett's bride-to-be, but this is just a hypothesis: Please refer to the section '1882: Marriage with Margaret Irving.'
Concerning the item 740, a sculpture Bust : 'Study of a Florentine Priest;' this was the marble version, dated 1882, that was purchased at the exhibition for £75, by the R.A.P.F.A.S. Please refer to the sections '1882: The Marble Version of a Florentine Priest' and the 'Actions of the R.A.P.F.A.S. Committee Concerning the Works of Thomas Stuart Burnett' (Appendix 4).
Concerning the item 758, the sculpture 'The Bather,' was later exhibited and put on sale for £300 at the 6th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee, From October 1882 to January 1883 (1738). Again, a sculpture 'The Bather,' was to be exhibited at the Twenty-Second Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists at The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, in 1883, (904), for sale at £300. For more information about the item 758, please refer to the section '1881: "The Bather."'
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1882 exhibits.
1882: Fine Art Exhibition, Galashiels
Helen Smailes, a Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), Scottish National Gallery, has kindly brought to my attention an article in 'The Scotsman,' of the 11th March 1882, concerning an exhibition organised by the local arts society or association, with the support of the Town Clerk, and held in the Corn Exchange. It was the inauguration of a projected series of annual exhibitions. The article stated that: 'The principal contributors of sculpture are A[ndrew] Currie, T S Burnett and DW Stevenson, several of the works exhibited being old acquaintances.'
If a list of the Galashiels exhibits can be found, the ones by Thomas Stuart Burnett will be commented here.
1882: Marriage with Margaret Irving
Perhaps the first time that Thomas Stuart Burnett had met Margaret Irving was when he had sculpted a fine bust of her in 1876. Please refer to the the section '1876: Margaret Irving.'
The following bust of Margaret Irving, might have been the Portrait Bust of a Lady, that Thomas Stuart Burnett had exhibited in the spring of 1882, at the 56th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy (738):
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| Portrait bust of Margaret Irving A painted plaster bust on a plinth, height 70 cm, signed and dated T. S. Burnett Sc 1882. Private Collection (W). |
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| Margaret Irving Photograph 10.3 x 6 cm. by G.R. Lawson, 102 South Bridge, Edinburgh, c. 1882. Photograph Private Collection (F). |
My future great-grandmother, Margaret Irving, was a daughter of James Irving and Mary Irving (née Thwaite). Margaret's father was a Dumfries bootmaker who had settled in Edinburgh and opened a high-class boot and shoe shop at 51 South Bridge, and her mother (of French Huguenot extraction) embroidered the fronts of evening slippers. Interestingly, the page 116 of the 'Post Office Edinburgh and Leith Directory' of 1881-82 not only confirms the address of the shop, but also that of the family home, at 17 Lutton Place, Edinburgh.
Margaret Irving was the elder sister of the artist James Thwaite Irving, who painted at least one portrait of her. Between the spring of 1882 and 1883, James was painting with the Impressionists, at Barbizon, France. We therefore do not know if he was able to attend the wedding ceremony, because Thomas Stuart Burnett and Margaret Irving were to be married on the 17th August 1882, at the bride's family home. However, the younger brother, who was the artist and musician Thomas Irving, was almost certainly present, and he may even have animated the event with his violin playing!
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| Thomas Stuart Burnett with his best man George Whitton Johnstone was T.S.B.'s best man in 1882. Photograph 15 x 10.1 cm, in the studio of P.F. Patrick, 14 Antigua Street, Edinburgh. Photograph Private Collection (W). |
The best man, George Whitton Johnstone, was four years older than the groom. He had already been sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett, and his bust was exhibited at the 4th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee in 1880 (1388). George Whitton Johnstone was a talented artist, skilled in portraits, but mainly specialising in landscapes. At some time (dates unknown) he painted in France's Fontainebleau forest, and was influenced by the famous artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. In our family collection (A), there is a Johnstone watercolour of a stone archway and street in Gretz, that is strangely dated or numbered, 183. Johnstone would have had much in common with Margaret's artist brother, James Thwaite Irving. Coincidentally, George Whitton Johnstone would appear, together with Thomas Stuart Burnett, in the group of 'Friendly Critics,' that was painted by Charles Martin Hardie, and presented at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1883. He would also be elected as one of three new associates of the Royal Scottish Academy, together with Patrick William Adam and Thomas Stuart Burnett, on the 14th November 1883. Again, in 1884, he would be Thomas Stuart Burnett's chosen model for 'Rob Roy,' and would then be glorified life-size, along with the heroic outlaw. On a sadder note, only six years after Thomas Stuart Burnett's marriage, George Whitton Johnstone would also provide an interesting detail about an unachieved sculpture that T.S.B. had aimed to produce, and Oliver S. Johnston was then able to expand upon this in his 1888 'Art and Literature' obituary (in Appendix 2).
1882: New Studio
According to the University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII online Mapping Sculpture database, Thomas Stuart Burnett changed the address of his practice in 1882:
From 1882 to 1888, his studio was situated at 2 Annandale Street, Edinburgh, Scotland.
1882: New Home address
The newly-married couple lived away from the studio. The 1883-1884 Post Office Edinburgh and Leith directory indicates that Mr T. Stuart Burnett's home was then at 1 Bellevue Crescent, Edinburgh.
1882: Three Statuettes for the Scott Monument in Edinburgh
Sir Walter Scott, FRSE, FSAScot, was a famous Scottish novelist, poet and historian who died on the 21st September 1832. He had had such an immense impact throughout Europe, and was so loved by the Scottish people, that there were multiple donations given by his admirers for the construction of a memorial. Also, because Walter Scott had been a Freemason in Edinburgh and had made such major contributions to Scottish culture, the Grand Lodge of Scotland became involved in the project and organised the commemoration of the laying of the foundation stone that took place on the 15th August 1840 (the 69th anniversary of Scott's birthday). The Scott Monument, in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, was designed by George Meikle Kemp, and was constructed between 1840 and 1846. At the time of writing, it is the world's second largest monument dedicated to a writer.
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| The Scott Monument, Edinburgh CC-BY-SA-3.0 Saffron Blaze |
In addition to the central statue of Scott with his dog Maida, that was sculpted by Sir John Steell R.S.A. in white Carrara marble; on the monument itself, there are 68 figurative statuettes, that were sculpted by 15 or more Scottish sculptors (some unknown) in Binny sandstone, and these were carried out in three phases up until 1882. The following statuettes, sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett, were photographed during that final year:
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| 'Davie Deans' From the novel 'The Heart of Midlothian,' 1818, Statuette by T.S. Burnett, on the north façade. Photographed by the studio of P.F. Patrick, 1882. Photograph Private Collection (W). |
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| 'Effie Deans' From the novel 'The Heart of Midlothian,' 1818, Statuette by T.S. Burnett, on the north façade. Photographed by the studio of P.F. Patrick, 1882. Photograph Private Collection (W). |
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| 'Lady of Avenel' From the two novels 'The Monastery.' 1820, and 'The Abbot,' 1820, Statuette by T.S. Burnett, on the east façade. Photographed by Anonymus, 1882. Photograph Private Collection (W). |
In a letter, dated 22nd February 1988, that my aunt Rosemary Mackenzie wrote to Miss Helen Smailes, then an assistant of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, she informed her that it was the sculptor's wife, Margaret Stuart Burnett (née Irving), who had been the model for the 'Lady of Avenel' statuette.
In Thomas Stuart Burnett's obituary that appeared in 'Art and Literature' (in Appendix 2), Oliver S. Johnston wrote that 'Commissions
were given in that year to various sculptors for statuettes to be
placed in vacant niches of the Scott monument in Edinburgh, and of these
our sculptor produced three: “Davie Deans,” “Effie Deans,” and the
“White Lady of Avenel.” At the Architectural Exhibition, held in
December, 1882, Mr. Aird, M.P. for North Paddington, saw, and greatly
admired, his conception of the stern old Presbyterian, “Davie Deans.”
The result was a commission to reproduce it in marble.'
Thomas Stuart Burnett's new patron, Mr John Aird, was an important English civil engineering contractor, who would become a Conservative Member of Parliament (M.P.) for North Paddington from 1887 to 1906, and be conferred the title of Baronet on the 5th March
1901. He then became Sir John Aird, 1st Baronet, and was titled 'Aird of Hyde Park Terrace.'
In addition to the marble statuette of 'Davie Deans,' commissioned by Mr John Aird, Thomas Stuart Burnett sculpted a marble statuette of 'Effie Deans,' that he exhibited firstly at the 57th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1883 (800), secondly at the 8th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee in 1884 (1442), and thirdly the 2nd Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists in 1886 (494), the sculpture being on sale for £100 at this last exhibition.
Thomas Stuart Burnett also sculpted a marble 'White Lady of Avenel,' and the following photograph shows him at work on on that statuette:
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| Thomas Stuart Burnett sculpting a marble 'White Lady of Avenel' A card-mounted photograph by Anonymus, 12.5 x 9.5cm., circa 1882. Photograph Private Collection (F). |
Helen Smailes, now a Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), Scottish National Gallery, has kindly sent me a catalogue extract from the Christies, Scotland sale, that took place between the 27th and 28th April 1987. The lot 308 was illustrated together with the following description:
"A SCOTTISH WHITE MARBLE STATUE OF JONATHAN OLDBUCK, a character from Sir Walter Scott's 'The Antiquary', by Thomas Stuart Burnett, standing in a three-quarter length coat, holding a cane in his right hand beside a tree stump, inscribed T. Stuart Burnett, 1885, octagonal plinth 36in. high."
The auctioneers were mistaken about the Waverley Novel character, as the illustrated statuette was not of 'Jonathan Oldbuck,' from Sir Walter Scott's novel, 'The Antiquary,' but of 'Davie Deans,' from Sir Walter Scott's novel, 'The Heart of Midlothian.' Still, it's good to know that a marble version of this statuette, which may have been the original from Sir John Aird's collection, still exists, and is apparently in good condition.
Although we are unaware of what has become of the marble version of 'Effie Deans,' the 'White Lady of Avenel' remains in our family:
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| 'White Lady of Avenel' Marble sculpture, height 35" (89 cm), n.d., circa 1882, by Thomas Stuart Burnett. Private Collection (A). |
On the 14th December 1970, the Scott Monument, Princes Street, Edinburgh, became a Category A Listed Building in Edinburgh (Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB27829).
1882: 'Self-portrait'
In 1882, Thomas Stuart Burnett, sculpted a splendid plaster 'Self-portrait.' It is fascinating how lifelike the bas-relief is, and to see how he deliberately 'faded' his left arm, to emphasise the principal tools of his art: the hammer and the chisel. The following version of the sculpture is from a private collection:
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| 'Self-portrait' Painted plaster relief, H 44 x W 25.5 x D 3 cm approx., signed and dated T.S.B. 1882. Private Collection (A) |
In a letter dated 26th February 1988, sent to my aunt Rosemary Mackenzie, (a granddaughter of Thomas Stuart Burnett), Helen Smailes, who was then a research assistant at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, enclosed a black and white photograph of 'Self-Portrait,' wondering if the statuette that T.S.B. was working on, was either 'Highland Mary' or 'Elfie Deans' (commissioned for the Walter Scott Monument). The 'Self-portrait' in question has since been donated in memory of George Stewart Sutherland, a sculptor of Galashiels (Accession number K.2011.75). Illustrated below, this version of the 'Self-portrait,' can now be admired in the National Museums of Scotland:
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| 'Self-portrait' Painted plaster relief, H 44.5 x W 26 x D 3 cm, 1882, signed and dated T.S.B. 1882. Image © National Museums Scotland |
1882-1883: Exhibits at the 6th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee
The following catalogue entries, were kindly supplied by Kirsty Matheson, Art Curator of the McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum:
From the 7th October 1882 to the 6th January 1883, at the 6th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 1738, a marble statue of 'The Bather,' on sale for £300; an item 1746, 'Eugene Aram' - Group; original model (executed in marble for A.D. Grimond, Esq., Glenericht); an item 1756, a Bust, Portrait of a Lady; and an item 1761, a Bust, 'Florentine Priest,' - Bust, original model (executed in marble for the Royal Association for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in Scotland).
Concerning the item 1738, the sculpture 'The Bather' had already been exhibited earlier that year at the R.S.A. of 1882 (758), and would be exhibited again at The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, in 1883 (904), for sale at £300. For further details, please refer to the section '1881: "The Bather."'
Concerning the item 1746, this would have been the original plaster model of the Group 'Eugene Aram,' lent by Alexander Dick Grimond of Dundee. This group was presented at several exhibitions. Please refer to the sections '1880-1881: 'Eugene Aram' and '1881: Commissions received from Alexander Dick Grimond of Dundee.'
Concerning the item 1756, perhaps the bust was that of Margaret Stuart Burnett (née Irving), as previously hypothesised for the 'Portrait Bust of a Lady' at the R.S.A. of 1882 (738). For more information about Margaret, please refer to the section '1882: Marriage with Margaret Irving.'
Concerning the item 1761, we know that the marble version of 'Florentine Priest,' exhibited at the R.S.A. of 1882, (740), was
purchased for £75 by the The Royal Association For Promotion of The Fine Arts in Scotland, and that it had subsequently become a prize of a
R.A.P.F.A.S. lottery on the 5th August 1882, before being shipped to
Australia. So the marble version could not have been at the Dundee Exhibition in October
1882. We can therefore deduce that the item 1761 was the plaster version of 'Florentine Priest.' For further details please refer to the sections '1881: A Study Visit of Paris, Rome and Florence,' '1881-1882: 'Bust of a Florentine Priest,' '1882: Exhibits at the 56th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy,' and 'Appendix 4' for the R.A.P.F.A.S. interventions.
1882-1883: Charles Martin Hardie's 'Friendly Critics'
Created between 1882 and 1883, 'Friendly Critics,' is an oil painting by Charles Martin Hardie, and depicts himself, in his Edinburgh studio, showing one of his paintings to a group of fellow artists. In the scene, Charles Martin Hardie is standing at the left, and his artist friends, from left to right, include Alexander Anderson, a Scottish poet; Robert Noble, a Scottish artist specialising in landscapes; George Whitton Johnstone, a Scottish artist; John Simpson Fraser, a Scottish artist specialising in watercolours; and Thomas Stuart Burnett, the Scottish sculptor and subject of this biography, standing at the right. When the painting was shown at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1883, the public were delighted with this glimpse of Bohemian life!
An extract of an article entitled 'A DISTINGUISHED SCOTTISH PAINTER THE LATE MR CHARLES MARTIN HARDIE, R.S.A.,' cut from an unidentified newspaper, circa 1917, reads as follows:
'A
large canvas, exhibited in 1883, called “Friendly Critics,” made a
considerable furore in artistic circles. It gave the public a glimpse of
the artist’s studio – a peep behind the scenes, so to speak, which they
dearly love, just before “sending-in day,” with a group of friends
criticising a picture which Mr Hardie is holding upon a chair for their
inspection. It was interesting as including several artists and writers,
such as Robert Noble, John Fraser, G. W. Johnstone, Thomas Burnet [sic.]
the sculptor, with Mr Alexander Anderson (“Surfaceman”), from whose
clever pen there was a stanza hitting off the group with considerable
humour.'
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| 'Friendly Critics' Oil on canvas, 102.20 x 132.20 cm, date 1882-1883, by Charles Martin Hardie. Photograph by Antonia Reeve, © National Galleries of Scotland. |
At the rear of a photocopy of 'Friendly Critics,' my Aunt Rosemary Mackenzie, who was a granddaughter of Thomas Stuart Burnett, has left us the following observation: 'Probably in the artist's studio at 10 Picardy Place, Edinburgh.'
Before 'Friendly Critics' was painted, Thomas Stuart Burnett had sculpted a bust of Charles Martin Hardie, and it had been exhibited at the 4th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee in 1880 (1398). Please refer to the section '1880: Exhibits at the 4th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee.'
Charles Martin Hardie's 'Friendly Critics' gives an interesting glimpse of T.S.B.'s social circle: George Whitton Johnstone had been Thomas Stuart Burnett's best man at his marriage in 1882. John Simpson Fraser, Artist R.S.W., married Euphemia Burnett, (T.S.B.'s younger sister, who was known as "Phemie"), and became Thomas Stuart Burnett’s brother-in-law. These artists were not only friends, but they also had family connections.
1883: Exhibits at the 57th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy
In the spring of 1883, at the 57th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 798, a Group in Marble : 'Eugene Aram;' an item 800, Statuette in Marble : 'Effie Deans;' an item 809, Portrait Bust : Mrs. Denovan Adam; and an item 828, a hood, 'Take her up tenderly, Lift her with care.'
Concerning the item 798, a Group in Marble : 'Eugene Aram,' it was most likely the stone version of the sculpture that Alexander Dick Grimond of Dundee had commissioned in 1881, and was therefore a copy of the original prize-winning plaster exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1881 (743). Please refer to the sections '1880-1881: "Eugene Aram,"' and '1881: Commissions received from Alexander Dick Grimond of Dundee.'
Concerning the item 800, Statuette in Marble : 'Effie Deans,' it was a marble copy of the freestone statuette of 'Effie Deans' that Thomas Stuart Burnett had sculpted for the Scott monument in 1882. Please refer to the section '1882: Three Statuettes for the Scott Monument in Edinburgh.'
The item 809, a Portrait Bust : Mrs Denovan Adam, would have been the wife of Joseph Denovan Adam, A.R.S.A., (later R.S.A.), R.S.W. a Scottish artist specialised in painting Highland landscape and local farm life, especially Highland cattle.
For the item 828, a hood, 'Take her up tenderly, Lift her with care.' the Mapping Sculpture site suggests that the object class was 'architecture (furniture and fittings),' and that the '"type of 'hood' is not known, possibilities include architectural moldings for a door or chimney hood.' This is of course a misunderstanding, as 'Take her up tenderly, Lift her with care,' are lines from Thomas Hood's 1844 poem, 'The Bridge of Sighs,' and concern the suicide of a homeless young woman who threw herself from Waterloo Bridge, in London.
Thomas Stuart Burnett would later exhibit this marble sculpture at the 7th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee in 1883 (1461), where it was put on sale for £300.
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1883 exhibits.
1883: Exhibits at the 22nd Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts
From the 16th February to the 30th April 1883, at the 22nd Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 884, a sculpture bust of Mrs Denovan Adam, previously exhibited at the 57th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in 1883 (809); and an item 904, a sculpture of 'The bather,' £300, previously exhibited at the 56th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in 1882 (758), and at the 6th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee in 1882-1883 (1738). For more information, please refer to the section '1881: "The Bather."'
1883: Birth of Rosemary Stuart Burnett ('Rose')
In 1883, on the 14th May, Thomas Stuart Burnett's first daughter, Rosemary Stuart Burnett was born at 11 Bellavere Crescent, St George, Edinburgh. Thomas Stuart Burnett quickly decided to sculpt her, and just over six months later, in the spring of 1884, he exhibited the bust of 'Rose' at the 58th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy (851). He went on to sculpt and exhibit variant busts, and details of these are given in the section '1884-1885: Rose.'
James Thwaite Irving, who was Thomas Stuart Burnett's brother-in-law, painted two portraits of her.
'Rose' studied music at the Ladies College of Queen Street, Edinburgh, where she would win the Bridgeman Memorial Gold Medal for Pianoforte Playing in the Session 1900-1901. From the 2nd March 1908 onwards she became a L.I.S.M. music teacher at the George Watson's Ladies College of The Royal Company of Merchants of The City of Edinburgh.
1883: Elected Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy
'The Guardian of London, Greater London, England,' announced, in its edition of Saturday, the 17th November 1883 (three days after the event), that: 'The following have been elected associates of the Royal Scottish Academy:- Thomas Stuart Burnett, Patrick W. Adam, and G.W. Johnstone.'
Coincidentally, one of the new associates, George Whitton Johnstone, had been Thomas Stuart Burnett's best man, at his wedding with Margaret Irving on the 17th August 1882; and like T.S.B., he had also been depicted in Charles Martin Hardie's 'Friendly Critics.'
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| Case containing the Medal of Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy The case and medal were both designed by Sir Joseph Noel Paton F.R.S.A. Given to the sculptor Thomas Stuart Burnett A.R.S.A. on the 14th November 1883. Private Collection (A) |
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| Obverse of the Medal of Associate of the R.S.A. Bronze, diameter 68 mm. x thickness 7.5 mm. Designed by Sir Joseph Noel Paton F.R.S.A. Given to T. S. Burnett A.R.S.A. on the 14th November 1883. Private Collection (A). |
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| Reverse of the Medal of Associate of the R.S.A. Bronze, diameter 68 mm. x thickness 7.5 mm. Designed by Sir Joseph Noel Paton F.R.S.A. Given to T. S. Burnett A.R.S.A. on the 14th November 1883. Private Collection (A). |
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| Engraved Rim of the Medal of Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy 'THOMAS STUART BURNETT ELECTED ASSOCIATE MDCCCLXXXIII' Bronze, diameter 68 mm. x thickness 7.5 mm., designed by Sir Joseph Noel Paton F.R.S.A. Given to the sculptor Thomas Stuart Burnett A.R.S.A. on the 14th November 1883. Private Collection (A). |
For the design of the Royal Scottish Academy medal, a proposal drawing by Sir Joseph Noel Paton F.R.S.A., can now be seen at the Perth Art Gallery, managed by Culture Perth and Kinross, (Accession number 1994.3812). Please note that for Sir Joseph Noel Paton, F.R.S.A. signified that he was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. For the Royal Scottish Academy, Sir Joseph Noel Paton was an Academician, (R.S.A.).
In their 2021 article 'The Patons of Dunfermline,' the Royal Scottish Academy gives the following description of the medal :
'Its obverse face carries the legend ROYAL SCOTTISH ACADEMY OF PAINTING SCULPTURE AND ARCHITECTURE in a circle around a tripod on which rests a laurel branch dividing the inscription “INSTI / 1826 / INCOR / 1838”, the whole contained within an outer edge border of laurel branches; The reverse face is dominated by one of Paton’s characteristic figures; the naked figure of Mercury kneeling left supporting lighted lamp on whose rim at left stands Pegasus rearing right with details of designer and medallist beneath.'
Approved by the R.S.A. Council in 1853, the design of the medal by Sir Joseph Noel Paton became the official insignia of the Royal Scottish Academy. The leading London medallist and die-maker, Benjamin Wyon was consulted, and accepted the order. Initially intended for the President, it was struck in gold. As the decoration was so well received, the same die was then used to strike silver medals for Academicians (R.S.A.), and bronze medals for Associates (A.R.S.A.) and Honorary members.
After Thomas Stuart Burnett's death, Sir Joseph Noel Paton, would intervene during a Special General Meeting of the Royal Scottish Academy on the 12th November 1888, to advocate the purchase of a marble head of a young girl (the late sculptor's second daughter 'Anna') for forty guineas. More details are given in the section '1885-1887: Anna.'
1883 : Sir William Wallace and King Robert the Bruce
William Wallace was a Scottish knight and leading figure in the First War of Scottish Independence. Together with Andrew Moray, he defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297. He was appointed Guardian of Scotland, but following his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in July 1298, he resigned in favour of Robert the Bruce. Wallace then appears to have left on a mission to the court of King Philip IV of France, to attempt to obtain French assistance in the Scottish struggle for independence. After his return to Scotland he was betrayed by a Scottish knight, loyal to the English. King Edward I of England then had him tried for treason, and on the 23rd August 1305, after he had been found guilty, he was consequently hanged, drawn and quartered, for high treason and crimes against English civilians.
'Statue Wallace' is the title that is handwritten by one of our ancestors, under this sepia photograph:
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| Sir William Wallace A statuette sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett. Photograph 9.3 x 5.9 cm. by the studio of P.F. Patrick, 14 Antigua Street, Edinburgh. Photograph Private Collection (W). |
We do not know which year the statuette of Sir William Wallace was sculpted, but Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited it as item 1471 of the 7th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee in 1883. At the same exhibition he also exhibited an item 1473, which was a statuette of King Robert the Bruce, certainly intending to present these Scottish heroes as a pair. At the 8th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee in 1884, the Sir William Wallace statuette was once again exhibited, this time as item 1444, for sale at £45.
1883-1884: Exhibits at the 7th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee
From the 6th October 1883 to the 5th January 1884, at the 7th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 1461, a 'Group from Bridge of Sighs,' 'Take her up tenderly, Lift her with care.' - Hood, in marble, for sale at £300; an item 1470, an 'Italian Head' - Original Study in Plaster, for sale at £25; an item 1471, Sir William Wallace, a statuette; and an item 1473, King Robert the Bruce, a statuette.
Concerning the item 1461, a 'Group from Bridge of Sighs' is probably the same as the item 828, a hood, 'Take her up tenderly, Lift her with care,' that was previously exhibited at the R.S.A. of 1883 (828). Please refer to the section '1883: Exhibits at the 57th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy.'
Concerning the item 1470, an 'Italian Head,' we have no further information, unless this was the Bust : Study of a Florentine Priest, which Thomas Stuart Burnett had previously exhibited as item 740, at the Royal Scottish Academy of 1882. Please refer to the section '1881-1882: "Bust of a Florentine Priest"'
Concerning the item 1471, Sir William Wallace, and the item 1473, King Robert the Bruce, please refer to the section '1883 : Sir William Wallace and King Robert the Bruce.'
1884-1888: New Home address
The 1884-1885 Post Office Edinburgh and Leith directory indicates that the house of Mr T. Stuart Burnett was then at 9 Melgund Terrace, Edinburgh. According to the birth certificate of Mr and Mrs Burnett's second daughter, Anna, she was born at Melgund terrace on the 17th September 1884. There seems to have been a small intermediate move, as a later 1887-1888 Post Office Edinburgh and Leith directory indicates that Mr T. Stuart Burnett's home address was then at number 7 Melgund Terrace, Edinburgh.
1884-1885: Rose
The following photograph comes from a 1988 correspondence that took place between Helen Smailes, who was then an assistant at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (and has since become a Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), Scottish National Gallery), and my aunt Rosemary Mackenzie, née Munro, granddaughter of Thomas Stuart Burnett, (herself a local historian). Please note that although I have obtained the authorisation from the National Galleries Scotland to use their photograph below, I have been unable to find the contact details of the rights holders of the sculpture itself. My best efforts have been made to trace current owners of the sculpture depicted, and the image is therefore reproduced in all good faith. The sculpture was initially recorded by the National Galleries Scotland in a private collection in Galashiels back in 1985, but the artworks have since been dispersed. My aunt identified this bust as being that of Thomas Stuart Burnett's first daughter, Rosemary Stuart Burnett, known as "Rose." Consequently, it might have been the bust that was exhibited at the 58th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of 1884 (851):
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| Rose A painted plaster head, h. 14 (35.5) on a socle. Inscribed on the back of the shoulder truncation: T. Stuart Burnett Sc [A]RSA / 1884. Photograph © National Galleries Scotland. |
The following photograph shows another version of the same bust, with some minor differences, for example in the tilt of the head:
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| Rose A painted plaster head, h. 14 (35.5) on a socle. Inscribed on the back of the shoulder truncation: T. Stuart Burnett aRSa 1884. Private collection (W). |
Interestingly, another plaster bust of Rose was sold in lot 184 at Bonhams of Edinburgh on the 12th September 2012. The bust in the photograph below looks like the versions shown above, and the announced height of 35.5 cm is identical. We do not have the full details, but the text 'After' could mean that the auctioned bust was a copy, and was neither signed nor dated by the original sculptor:
%20After%20Thomas%20Stuart%20Burnett%20(1853-1888)%20Rosemary%20Stuart%20Burnett.jpg "'Rosemary Stuart Burnett after Thomas Stuart Burnett'") |
| 'Rosemary Stuart Burnett after Thomas Stuart Burnett' Head and shoulders study, facing dexter with painted terracotta finish, 35.5cm high. Photograph Courtesy of Bonhams. |
In a Bonhams of Knightsbridge, London sale of the 8th April 2014, a lot 222, which was sold for £250 (including the premium), consisted of 'A bronze bust of a boy,' signed and dated 'T. Stuart Burnett, aRSa 1884,' with a 'dark brown patination, raised on a rectangular Verde Antico marbe [sic] plinth, 29cm high.' However, the bust in question looks quite similar to that of 'Rose,' and might well be another version of it:
_%20A%20bronze%20bust%20of%20a%20boy.jpg "A bronze bust of a boy, or of Rose?") |
| A bronze bust of a boy, or of Rose? A bronze bust signed and dated T. Stuart Burnett, aRSa 1884. On a rectangular Verde Antico marble plinth, 29 cm high. Photograph Courtesy of Bonhams. |
In July 1885, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 716, a marble bust 'Little Rose' at the 1st Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists. We do not have any further details concerning the dimensions and date of that sculpture, but apart from being in marble, it could have been similar to those of the original plaster busts of 'Rose' described above.
In 1888, at the International Exhibition of Glasgow, posthumous exhibits of Thomas Stuart Burnett's work included the item 1513, which was a 'Bust of Baby,' for sale at £40 0s. During the exhibition, Glasgow Museums purchased the bust (Accession number S.50). Dr Joanna Meacock, Curator of British Art at Glasgow Life Museums, has kindly supplied some additional details, and these are available in the section '1888: Posthumous Exhibits at the International Exhibition of Glasgow.' Although this marble head, dated 1885, is today exhibited by Glasgow Life Museums with the alternative title 'Head of an Infant,' its posture, expression and clothing are all those of 'Rose:'
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| Head of an Infant - 'Rose' Marble bust on a socle, H 27.5 x W 36 x D 17 cm, signed T.STUART BURNETT ARSA, 1885. ART UK CC BY-NC 4.0 image by Glasgow Life Museums |
In 1916, at the 90th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, a posthumous exhibit of Thomas Stuart Burnett's work consisted of the item 41, a 'Head of an Infant' : Marble, which, according to the notes of the Royal Scottish Academy, was '(Dated 1885. Same work as 1885, No. 861.), lent by the Corporation of the City of Glasgow' (now Glasgow Galleries and Museums). Cross-checking, we see that the item 861 exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy of 1885 was not the bust of 'Rose,' but of 'Anna,' Thomas Stuart Burnett's second daughter. A bust of 'Rose,' that was probably a plaster version, had previously been exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy of 1884 (851).
1884: Exhibits at the 58th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy
In the spring of 1884, at the 58th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 824, a Portrait Bust of a Lady in Marble; an item 831, a sculpture Bust : Donald, Son of Donald Macdonald, Stroove, Skelmorlie; an item 832, a sculpture Bust : David Pryde, Esq., LL.D.; an item 835, a sculpture Bust : Edmund Edmunds, Esq.; and also an item 851, a sculpture Bust : 'Rose.'
Concerning the item 831, Donald, son of Donald Macdonald, it portrayed the first of three sons, Donald who was born in 1876, and must have been roughly 8 years old in the bust portrait. In 1901, at 25 years of age, he was working as a clerk.
Concerning the item 832, David Pryde M.A. LL.D. was born circa 1834, and had become a lecturer in English Literature and the Headmaster of Edinburgh Ladies College from 1870 to 1891.
Concerning the item 851, the sculpture bust of 'Rose,'
was the portrait of Thomas Stuart Burnett's first daughter, who, born
in 1883, would have been aged about ten months old. For further information, please refer to the section '1884-1885: Rose.'
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1884 exhibits.
1884: Birth of Anna Winifred Stuart Burnett ('Winnie')
On the 17th September, 1884, Thomas Stuart Burnett's second daughter, Anna Winifred Stuart Burnett was born at Melgund Terrace, Edinburgh. Thomas Stuart Burnett quickly decided to sculpt her, and only a few months later, in the spring of 1885, he exhibited a first bust of 'Anna' at the 59th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy (861). When she grew up, Anna adopted her second name, which she spelt as 'Winnifred,' and she was affectionately called 'Winnie' by her family and friends. 'Winnie' trained at the Edinburgh College of Art and was a talented artist D.A. and an art teacher. Quite coincidentally, after marrying William John Munro, the District Clerk of Tain, in 1913, she would live at Alderbrae, which was only a five-minute walk from Thomas Stuart Burnett's 1879 memorial bust of Kenneth Murray of Geanies. Please refer to the section '1879: Memorial Monument to Kenneth Murray of Geanies, Provost of Tain, Ross-Shire.'
1884: Thomas Mansfield Guthrie
In 1884, Thomas Stuart Burnett sculpted a bust of Thomas Mansfield Guthrie, 'son of C. J. Guthrie, Esq., Advocate.' Thomas's father, Charles John Guthrie, was a successful lawyer, having become the Sheriff of Ross and Cromarty and Sutherland, before being appointed to a Judgeship of the Court of Session with the title Lord Guthrie in 1907. There is an illustrated account of a luxury Baltic cruise that he undertook with his family, on the S.S. Prinzessin Victoria Luise, in 1902. Thomas's father, Charles John Guthrie, Esq., collected family portrait busts that he commissioned from the renowned sculptors of the day. The following black and white photographs, by Francis Caird Inglis of Edinburgh, compare four of these sculptures, each executed by different Scottish sculptors:
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| Thomas M. Guthrie M.B and Charles Euan C. Guthrie respectively sculpted by T. Stuart Burnett a.r.s.a (in 1884) and H.S. Gamley a.r.s.a (in 1913). Photograph 15 x 11.1 cm. by Francis Caird Inglis of Edinburgh, Private Collection (W). |
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| Thomas Guthrie D.D., Lord Guthrie, Thomas M. Guthrie M.B., and Charles Euan C. Guthrie respectively sculpted by Sir John Steell R.S.A., James Pittendrigh MacGillivray R.S.A., Thomas Stuart Burnett A.R.S.A., and Henry Snell Gamley A.R.S.A. Photograph 21.7 x 28.2 cm. by Francis Caird Inglis of Edinburgh, Private Collection (W). |
Thomas Mansfield Guthrie became a doctor; M.B. (Medicinae Baccalaureus) being the UK English abbreviation, meaning Bachelor of Medicine.
Thomas Mansfield Guthrie, son of C. J. Guthrie, Esq., Advocate, by Thomas Stuart Burnett A.R.S.A., is a bust sculpture of a child in bronze on a red antique marble base. Dated 1884, its dimensions are 47 x 20 x 20 cm. It was exhibited as item 812, at The 59th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, in 1885. The sculpture has since been on sale several times; at Denhams of Sussex on the 30th October 2013; at the Vangelli Gallery of London in 2014; and again in the U.S.A. via Ebay in 2021, (the last seller having acquired it at a Connecticut estate auction). At each of these sales links, there are colour photographs of the bust.
1884-1888 : 'Youth'
In 1885, a statue entitled 'Youth' was displayed as item 835 of the 59th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy.
In Thomas Stuart Burnett's obituary that appeared in 'Art and Literature' (in Appendix 2), Oliver S. Johnston wrote that: 'In 1884, besides other minor works, appeared his noblest ideal composition, “Youth.” This is one of those works which yield fresh pleasure, and fresh inspiration, by repeated study. For Burnett here gives us youth the hunter, youth the athlete, – the young man rejoicing in his strength, – not youth the aspirant, the dreamer. The limbs are muscular, lithe, and supple, not with one ounce of superfluous flesh about them; with these the arms, to the long, nervous fingers are in strict sympathy; while the beautiful, almost classic, head, poised so lightly on the sinewy neck, makes a just finish to an uncommonly fine work. Would that we had more such!'
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| 'Youth' Or 'Youth with Staghound,' sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett circa 1884. Photograph 14.7 x 10 cm. on card by Anonymus. Photograph Private Collection (W). |
In the family archives, a black and white copy of the sepia photograph shown above is labelled as 'Youth,' together with some written comments that seem to have come from the 1988 correspondence between Helen Smailes, who was then an assistant at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (and has since become a Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), Scottish National Gallery), and my aunt Rosemary Mackenzie, née Munro, granddaughter of Thomas Stuart Burnett, (herself a local historian).
Kirsty Matheson, Art Curator of the McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum, has kindly supplied the following catalogue entry concerning a posthumous exhibit at the 13th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee from October 1889 onwards (no end date mentioned in the catalogue):
'1260 "Youth with Staghound" (presented to the permanent collection by W. Brown Robertson, Esq.).'
Kirsty Matheson has also brought to my attention the following article published in the 'Dundee Courier' of Tuesday the 14th May 1889:
'GIFT OF STATUARY.
The following letter was read to the meeting:
Dudhope House, Dundee, April 22, 1889.
Dear Sir, - I have pleasure in presenting to the Art Gallery "Youth with Staghound," a work by the late Thomas Stuart Burnett, A.R.S.A., and I hope it will be accepted by the Committee. - I am, yours sincerely,
(Signed) W. BROWN ROBERTSON.
John Maclauchlan, Esq.
The work referred to was inspected by the Committee, and was much admired by the members. The figures, in plaster of Paris, are fully life size, powerfully modelled, have an easy and natural pose, and possess the grace and beauty of line which were characteristic of the work of the able young sculptor, whose premature death was a great loss to Scottish art. The Secretary was instructed to tender Mr Brown Robertson the warm thanks of the Committee for so valuable and welcome a gift.'
Searching for more information about 'W. BROWN ROBERTSON,' in the 1889-1890 Dundee Post Office Directory, we find that there was a Robertson, Wm. Brown, of John Robertson & Son, Dudhope house, and that Robertson, John, & Son, were wholesale spirit dealers, at 6 Candle Lane, Dundee. John Robertson and Son of 38, Seagate, Dundee, and Coleburn Distillery, Morayshire, were Scotch Whisky Merchants and Distillers, established in 1827 by John Robertson.
Kirsty Matheson has informed me that John Maclauchlan, Esq., who was also referred to in the newspaper article above, was at that time the Chief Librarian of the Dundee Free Library, and had been very much involved in the first Dundee Fine Art Exhibition in 1873, thus stimulating loans of works to Dundee from the South Kensington Collections (now the Victoria and Albert or V&A, London).
Kirsty Matheson has also informed me that since the acquisition of 'Youth with Staghound,' the McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum unfortunately have no record of its present whereabouts.
We also notice that Thomas Stuart Burnett had exhibited a sculpture bust of 'a promising youth' at the the 62nd Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1888 (705). Kindly supplied by Helen Smailes, the following extract from 'The Report by the Committee of Management of the Royal Association for
Promotion of the Fine Arts in Scotland (R.A.P.F.A.S.), for the year 1887-1888' stated that:
'...this year their attention was specially directed to Mr. Burnett's model for a bust in the recent exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy titled "A Promising Youth," but his death in the beginning of March delayed the purchase, as the Sculptor's hand could no longer reproduce the work in marble. Your Committee, however, have under consideration a proposal to reproduce the bust in bronze with a view to its presentation to the Scottish National Gallery as a memorial of the talented young artist.'
According to the R.A.P.F.A.S. minute book (in Appendix 4), the idea was explored further and a estimation of the cost was made. However, in 1889, 'The Board of Manufactures declined the offer of Burnett's Bust.'
Bearing in mind the R.A.P.F.A.S. idea of a bronze reproduction, one is tempted to ask two questions:
Firstly: Is the following bronzed plaster head of 'Youth' derived from the plaster bust of 'a promising youth,' that was initially presented at the the 62nd Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1888 (705)?
And secondly: Was the following head entirely executed by Thomas Stuart Burnett himself, or was it bronzed posthumously by a fellow sculptor?:
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| 'Youth' 'Bronzed plaster head, ht. 11 3/16 (28.5) (sight). Burnett exhibited the complete statue at the R.S.A. in 1885 (835).' (Notes by Helen Smailes in the 'List of sculpture photographed in a Scottish private collection in 1985') Photograph © National Galleries Scotland. |
Please note that although I have obtained the authorisation from the National Galleries Scotland to use their photograph above, I have been unable to find the contact details of the rights holders of the sculpture itself. My best efforts have been made to trace current owners of the sculpture depicted, and the image is therefore reproduced in all good faith. The sculpture was initially recorded by the National Galleries Scotland in a private collection in Galashiels back in 1985, but the artworks have since been dispersed.
1884: 'Rob Roy'
Robert Roy MacGregor was a Jacobite Scottish outlaw, who later became a Scottish and Jacobite folk hero. His exploits were immortalised in Sir Walter Scott's novel, 'Rob Roy,' which was published in 1817.
Once Mr John Aird (later Sir John Aird, 1st Baronet), had seen the marble reproduction of the Scott Monument 'Davie Deans' statuette, for which he had commissioned Thomas Stuart Burnett in 1882, he was sufficiently impressed to give him a new commission; this time for a life-size statue of 'Rob Roy.'
Below is a view of Thomas Stuart Burnett in his studio, painted circa 1884. We see what looks like a reduced scale sketch model of 'Rob Roy' in the background (probably a preliminary study in preparation for the life-size model that was commissioned by Mr John Aird), while in the foreground, Thomas Stuart Burnett is working on a baby's head, most likely that of 'Rose.' If anyone can decipher the illegible signature, I would be most interested to know the artist's identity. Our aunt Rosemary MacKenzie informed us that the artist in question owed money to Thomas Stuart Burnett, and paid his debt with this painting. Helen Smailes, who visited my aunt Rosemary as an assistant of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 1988, saw this painting before it was cleaned, and at that time noted that 'The oil is signed indistinctly WMM [ ] and dated 1882 or 1883.' The year 1883 would be more likely, as it was when Thomas Stuart Burnett's first daughter 'Rose' was born:
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| Thomas Stuart Burnett in his studio Oil painting on canvas, 34 x 24cm (excluding the frame), signed illegible, circa 1884. Private collection (W). |
Also, we do not know the name of the anonymous artist who painted the following close-up of Thomas Stuart Burnett sculpting 'Rob Roy.' What is certain is that there were continuous contacts between the artists and sculptors, and Thomas Stuart Burnett sculpted several busts of his artist friends.
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| Thomas Stuart Burnett sculpting Rob Roy Oil painting on wood, 17 x 11.5 cm (excluding the frame), by Anonymus, circa 1884. Private collection (W). |
Both the plaster and the marble versions of the 'Rob Roy' statue are dated 1884. However, Thomas Stuart Burnett seems to have only exhibited the marble version at the 59th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, in 1885 (382), and an unknown version at the 2nd Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition, of Works of Modern Artists, in 1886, with a sketch model, "executed life-size in marble for John Aird, London."
The two photographs that follow show a first plaster sketch model of 'Rob Roy,' in Thomas Stuart Burnett's studio:
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| Sketch of 'Rob Roy' by Thomas Stuart Burnett A sketch model in the studio at 2 Annandale Street, Edinburgh c.1884. Photograph 15 x 10.4 cm. by P.F. Patrick of 14 Antigua Street, Edinburgh. Photograph Private Collection (W). |
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| Sketch of 'Roy Roy' by Thomas Stuart Burnett A sketch model in the studio at 2 Annandale Street, Edinburgh c.1884. Photograph 16.8 x 11.2 cm. by P.F. Patrick of 14 Antigua Street, Edinburgh. Photograph Private Collection (F). |
Amy Fairley, Art Officer at the Perth Art Gallery has kindly supplied the following information about the (second?) plaster version of the 'Rob Roy' sculpture, which is now a permanent exhibit n°1/25 at the Perth Museum. It had initially been donated by Mr John Aird to the Royal Scottish Academy in 1885, once he had purchased Thomas Stuart Burnett's marble version, which was exhibited that same year at the 59th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy (382). It was then gifted to the Perth Museum and Art Gallery by the Royal Scottish Academy in 1937, and was transported to Perth from the Royal Scottish Museum on Chambers Street, Edinburgh, where it was in storage. Also in 1937, plans to have a posthumous copy made in bronze, at a cost of £275, were not pursued by Perth Town Council.
An article of 'The Scotsman,' of the 25th May 1937, revealed that the model for the plaster statue gifted to the Perth Museum, had been 'Mr G. W. Johnston [sic.], R.S.A., a contemporary of Burnett. Both men were made Associates of the Academy in 1883. Johnston [sic.] was an impressive, burly figure, and the Rob Roy statue commemorates this Edinburgh painter as well as the romantic figure of the Highland outlaw.'
George Whitton Johnstone had also been Thomas Stuart Burnett's best man at his marriage in 1882, and had been portrayed with him in Charles Martin Hardie's group of 'Friendly Critics,' that was exhibited at the R.S.A. in 1883. For further details, please refer to '1882: Marriage with Margaret Irving,' and '1882-1883: Charles Martin Hardie's 'Friendly Critics.'
The following photograph shows the (second?) plaster version of 'Rob Roy', that is now displayed at the Perth Museum:
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| 'Rob Roy' Life-size statue in plaster, height 2135 mm, by Thomas Stuart Burnett, 1884. ‘Courtesy of Culture Perth & Kinross Museums & Galleries.’ |
We note that there are several features which differentiate the two plaster versions. For example, in the first version, Rob Roy's plaid hangs quite low, while in the second version it is shorter. Again, in the first version, 'Rob Roy' looks slightly downwards, while in the second version he looks ahead. Once more, in the first version, Rob Roy's hands are clutching the hilt of his claymore over his sporran, while in the second version his sporran is clearly visible beside his clutched hands. Readers are invited to compare the photographs and notice other differences between the two versions. However, please note that today, one has to imagine the original swords that have since disappeared from the second plaster and marble versions of the statue.
Seemingly based on the second plaster version, the 'Rob Roy' statue executed in marble, was photographed in Thomas Stuart Burnett's studio, before being handed over to the patron, Mr John Aird:
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| 'Roy Roy' by Thomas Stuart Burnett Marble, in the studio at 2 Annandale Street, Edinburgh c.1884. Photograph 14.6 x 10.2 cm. by P.F. Patrick of 14 Antigua Street, Edinburgh. Photograph Private Collection (W). |
The buyer installed the marble 'Rob Roy' in the dining room (or Calderon room) of his home, as described and illustrated on page 136 of an article entitled 'The Private Art Collections of London. Mr. John Aird’s, in Hyde Park Terrace' that appeared in 'The Art Journal,' N° 635 of the 29th May 1891:
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| The Dining Room (or Calderon Room) of Mr. John Aird at Hyde Park Terrace, London Illustration from 'The Art Journal' of the 29th May 1891, showing the statue of 'Rob Roy,' by Thomas Stuart Burnett. |
The marble statue of 'Rob Roy' remained in London until the 1970s, when by chance it was discovered in a scrapyard and bought for £50, before being placed in the garden of a Scottish country house; as reported in an article by 'The Herald,' of the 24th August 2002:
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| 'Rob Roy' in a garden of a Scottish country house, after being found in a scrapyard. Photograph Courtesy of Bonhams. |
In the plate 6 of her 1977 Ph.D. thesis, entitled 'Nineteenth Century Scottish Sculpture,' now in the Edinburgh University Library, Robin Lee Woodward showed a black and white photograph of 'Rob Roy' standing in a garden, and she stated in a footnote 69 of page 55 of the volume 1, chapter II, that the statue was at 'The Glen.' We can therefore presume that 'The Glen' was the name of the 'Scottish country house,' previously referred to in the above-mentioned article of 'The Herald.'
The catalogue of the Bonhams Scottish Sale at Edinburgh, which took place from the 22nd to the 24th August 2002, stated that 'The whereabouts of this marble sculpture was unknown, until it was discovered recently in a Country House in the Borders.' The precise description of the lot 640A was: 'Full length marble sculpture of Rob Roy, on a naturalistic rocky base, signed and dated "T Stuart Burnett, ARSA Sc Edin 1884" to the base.' On the 22nd August 2002, the rediscovered 'Rob Roy' statue, was bought for £45,150, (including the buyer's commission), by 'a private buyer in Scotland who wishes to remain anonymous.'
Interestingly, back in 1972, Adam McGregor Dick had written to my grandmother, 'Anna,' (the second daughter of Thomas Stuart Burnett), to enquire about the possible whereabouts of the marble version, 'regarding the statue I am proposing have put up in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh.' He went on to make enquiries in London, trying to contact the descendants of Sir John Aird, but I suppose that the statue in question, had by that time, been discovered in the scrapyard; and was already standing in 'The Glen.' According to a plaque below another bronze statue of 'Rob Roy,' that Adam McGregor Dick donated to the city of Stirling, he was a great-great-great-great-grandchild of the famous Robert Roy MacGregor.
On page 39 of the 'Biographical and Descriptive Catalogue' of her 1977 Ph.D. thesis entitled 'Nineteenth Century Scottish Sculpture,' now in the Edinburgh University Library, Robin Lee Woodward mentioned that another of T.S.B.'s statues of Rob Roy, was in 'freestone, n.d. Peterculter, painted in several colours.' There is a history of painted wooden statues of Rob Roy at Peterculter, but I have been unable to find a trace of any painted statue by Thomas Stuart Burnett there, whether it be in freestone or in wood. Perhaps a reader will have information that will resolve this mystery.
1884-1885: Exhibits at the 8th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee
From the 4th October 1884 to the 10th January 1885, at the 8th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 1442, 'Effie Deans;' and an item 1444, Sir William Wallace, for sale at £45.
Concerning the item 1442, 'Effie Deans,' please refer to the section '1882: Three Statuettes for the Scott Monument in Edinburgh.'
Concerning the item 1444, Sir William Wallace, we notice that it was up for sale, which did not seem to have been the case at the previous 7th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee in 1883. For further information about the item 1444, please refer to the section '1883 : Sir William Wallace and King Robert the Bruce.'
Circa 1885 : Reverend Alexander Davidson M.A.
In 1885, a marble bust of The late Rev. Mr. Davidson was displayed as item 384 of the 59th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy. The Reverend Alexander Davidson M.A., had died on the 15th April 1858, after being, for 15 years, the much beloved minister of the North Leith Parish Church, Madeira Street, Edinburgh. The marble bust, commissioned by the North Leith Parish Church, is still visible there:
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| Reverend Alexander Davidson M.A. sculpted in marble by Thomas Stuart Burnett, circa 1885 Photograph by Canmore / 1381999 |
Appearing below the name of the sculptor, on the right hand side of the plinth, the date of creation is illegible in this photograph, and will need verification in situ. Thank you in advance for any information.
1885-1887: Anna
In 1885, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited a Bust: 'Anna,' at the 59th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy (861). His second daughter, 'Anna' Winnifred Stuart Burnett (later known as 'Winnie'), had been born in 1884. The original bust remains in the family, but unfortunately it's in pretty poor shape, after being disfigured by pencil marks on its eyes and mouth... It can be repaired, but for the moment it has a rather eerie look:
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| 'Anna' (1) Painted plaster bust on plinth, ht. 30.5 cm, signed T. Stuart Burnett 1885. Private collection (W). |
At the back of the bust, and below the signature and date 'T. Stuart Burnett 1885', there are remains of a handwritten label that might have come from an exhibition. However, the label is illegible and we can only make out the following:
'...e Sculptor
........................
was exhibited ........................................
presented to Mr ..nry ..........gnirion
of a skight .avour.'
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| 'Anna' (1) signature and label behind the bust Painted plaster bust on plinth, ht. 30.5 cm, signed T. Stuart Burnett 1885. At the rear of the bust, below the signature and date, there are the remains of a label. Private collection (W). |
Luckily, our family has two other versions of this bust, that are in much better condition:
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| 'Anna' (2 and 3) Painted plaster busts on plinths, ht. 30.5 cm., signed T. Stuart Burnett 1885. Private collection (A). |
The following bust, here called 'Anna' (2), has been labelled by our aunt Rosemary Mackenzie as being of 'Grandma,' meaning her mother and our grandmother, Anna Winnifred Munro (née Stuart Burnett):
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| 'Anna' (2) Painted plaster bust on plinth, ht. 30.5 cm, signed T. Stuart Burnett 1885. Private collection (A). |
On page 39 of the 'Biographical and Descriptive Catalogue' of her 1977 Ph.D. thesis entitled 'Nineteenth Century Scottish Sculpture,' now in the Edinburgh University Library, Robin Lee Woodward, stated that there was a portrait bust 'MARGARET STUART BURNETT: plaster, 1876. Edinburgh, possession of Miss M. Stuart Burnett; as a child.' This bust was illustrated in a black and white photograph in plate 116, that was described, on page v of volume 2, as being of, 'MARGARET STUART BURNETT: Thomas Stuart Burnett, 1876.'
This was of course impossible, as Margaret Irving Stuart Burnett, known as 'Madge,' was born eleven years later, on the 21st January 1887. Also, the bust, that was photographed in plate 116, looked exactly like those of her elder sister 'Anna.' The year that 'Madge' was born, Thomas Stuart Burnett was very busy with productions that included 'The Farrier,' 'Her Majesty Queen Victoria,' 'Robert Burns,' 'Among the Brambles,' 'A South African,' 'Panels for the Monument to the 5th Duke of Buccleuch,' and 'General Gordon,' and would have had little time to model a bust of his third daughter. In fact, my siblings and I have no recollection of any plaster bust of 'Madge.'
Bearing in mind these observations, we deduce that the bust of plate 116 was not of 'Madge,' but of 'Anna.' The following bust, here called 'Anna' (3), is the same as the one shown in plate 116 of Robin Lee Woodward's thesis, and this assertion can be easily verified by comparing details, such as the flaking paint on the cheek, and the shape of the earlobe:
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| 'Anna' (3) Painted plaster bust on plinth, ht. 30.5 cm, signed T. Stuart Burnett 1885. Private collection (A). |
On the 13th March 2021, Franklin Browns of Edinburgh auctioned a lot 347, which was a 32cm.-high painted plaster bust of a child, signed by Thomas Stuart Burnett, and dated 1885. This other bust, that looks similar to the ones above of 'Anna,' seems to be in quite good condition, and several different views of it can be admired on the website of the saleroom.
Yet another plaster bust that seems to be that of 'Anna' was sold in lot 184 at Bonhams of Edinburgh on the 12th September 2012. The bust in the photograph below looks like the versions shown above, and the announced height of 31.5 cm is approximately the same. We do not have the full details, but the text 'After,' probably means that the auctioned bust was a copy, that was neither signed nor dated by the original sculptor:
%20After%20Thomas%20Stuart%20Burnett%20(1853-1888)Rosemary%20Stuart%20Burnett.jpg "'Anna'") |
| 'Anna' Previously titled 'Rosemary Stuart Burnett after Thomas Stuart Burnett.' Head and shoulders study, facing dexter with painted terracotta finish, 31.5cm high. Photograph Courtesy of Bonhams. |
In the footnote 52 of page 23 of chapter II, volume 1 of her 1977 Ph.D. thesis entitled 'Nineteenth Century Scottish Sculpture,' now in the Edinburgh University Library, Robin Lee Woodward wrote that: 'It is claimed that several of T.S. Burnett's busts were repeatedly reproduced by Signor Colnaghi without the prior consent of the sculptor (Information provided by Mrs. A. Munro).' Considering the number of 'Anna' busts that are in circulation, it's hardly a coincidence that this information came from Anna herself!
In the family archives, behind the upper of the two photographs below, there is a handwritten note: '“Head of a child” signed and dated 1887, from the collection of the National Gallery of Scotland.' The two photographs are probably from the 1988 correspondence between Helen Smailes, who was then an assistant at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (and has since become a Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), Scottish National Gallery), and my aunt Rosemary Mackenzie, née Munro, a granddaughter of T.S.B., (herself a local historian). The upper of the two photographs below is also the one that was used to illustrate the cover page of Robin Lee Woodward's 1977 University of Edinburgh Ph.D. thesis, entitled 'NINETEENTH CENTURY SCOTTISH SCULPTURE,' and my aunt Rosemary has left a short handwritten note on a photocopy of that page, that reads as follows: 'Original marble head of Grandma in National Gallery.' By 'Grandma,' my aunt meant her mother, and my grandmother "Winnie" Munro, whose full maiden name was Anna Winnifred Stuart Burnett:
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| 'Head of a child' - Anna (head) - before restoration Sculpted in marble by Thomas Stuart Burnett, 1887. Photograph © National Galleries Scotland. |
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| 'Head of a child'- Anna (upper torso) - before restoration Sculpted in marble by Thomas Stuart Burnett, 1887. Photograph © National Galleries Scotland. |
'The Royal Scottish Academy, 1826-1916 : A complete list of the exhibited Works by Raeburn and by Academicians, Associates and Hon. Members, giving details of those Works in Public Galleries,' states on page 59, that at the R.S.A. exhibition of 1885, the item 861, a 'Bust Anna' was the 'Same work as 1916, No. 41. Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Glasgow. Bought 1888.' The same publication goes on to state on page 60, that at the R.S.A. exhibition of 1916, the item 41 'Head of an Infant : Marble' was the 'Same work as 1885, No. 861. Lent by the Corporation of the City of Glasgow.' These entries show that 'Anna' and 'Head of a Child' or 'Head of an Infant' were either the same, or similar busts. I use the adjective similar, because the first plaster bust, described at the beginning of this section, has the remains of what might be an exhibition label, glued behind its plinth, and might well have been the bust presented in 1885 at the 59th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy (861).
With the assistance of Robin H. Rodger, the Documentation Officer of the Royal Scottish Academy, Helen Smailes has kindly supplied the following information from the R.S.A. Archive and Library: On page 290 of the 'Minutes of General Meeting of the Royal Scottish Academy 1874-l892,' it was reported that a Special General Meeting took place on the 12th November 1888. At that meeting, 'On the suggestion of Mr. Paton [ie (Sir) Joseph Noel Paton the painter], it was agreed to take up Council's [ie R.S.A. Council] recommendation, That a piece of work - A young girl's head - by the late Mr. Burnett be purchased by the Academy...The price of the marble head to be Forty Guineas.' Helen Smailes, of the Scottish National Gallery, points out that 'Noel Paton's advocacy of this purchase is particularly interesting in view of his lifelong engagement with figure sculpture and aspirations for recognition as a professional monumental sculptor, ultimately unrealised.' A vouchers collection of the 13th November 1888, reported that the Royal Scottish Academy paid Thomas Stuart Burnett's widow £42 for a bust in marble of a girl's head. It is sad that Margaret Irving had to part with the marble version of the bust of her daughter 'Anna,' but at least it went to the R.S.A. which was attempting to assist her when she was in dire financial straits. On page 9 of the Sixty-First Annual Report of the Council of the Royal Scottish Academy of 1888, the following mention appeared: '5. Head of a Young Girl in Marble, by the late T. Stuart Burnett A.R.S.A. Purchased by THE ACADEMY.'
Helen Smailes has also kindly supplied the following information about an article in the 'Glasgow Herald' of the 15th November 1888, concerning the report on the annual meeting of the Royal Scottish Academy, that was held in the Academy Library: 'Messrs GO Reid, James Guthrie, and Thomas Scott were elected Associates of the Academy in room of Robert Alexander, elected to be an academician, and the late T Stuart Burnett and John lrvine.' Listed among additions to the Academy's art collection 'during the past year' there was '5. Head of a young girl in marble, by the late T Stuart Burnett ARSA, purchased by the Academy.'
In the spring of 1908, at the 82nd Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, there was a posthumous exhibit of Thomas Stuart Burnett's work, the item 213, which was a 'Head of a Young Girl,' lent by the Royal Scottish Academy. This might have been the bust that would subsequently be transferred, from the Royal Scottish Academy to the National Galleries of Scotland in or before 1910 (Accession number: NG 1015).
In 1939, at the Royal Academy of Art: The Exhibition of Scottish Art, which was announced as being 'a comprehensive exhibit of Scottish Art in London,' there was a second posthumous exhibit of Thomas Stuart Burnett's work, an item 501, that was a marble head of a 'Baby (The Artist's Daughter).' The description by Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain & Ireland 1851-1951 states that it was a 'Child's head, turned slightly to left. Modelled in Italy in 1881,' and that it was inscribed 'T. Stuart Burnett Sc., 1882;' this being carved at the back. The sculpture was lent by the National Gallery of Scotland, R.S.A. Collection; having been presented by the R.S.A to the N.G.S. in 1910. There are two erroneous dates in the above description, because, unless he had imagined her, Thomas Stuart Burnett could not have modelled his daughter's head while he was in Italy in 1881. His first daughter, Rosemary Stuart Burnett was born after that date, on the 14th May 1883, and his second daughter, Anna Winnifred Stuart Burnett, (the subject of the bust NG1015 of the National Galleries of Scotland), was born on the 17th September, 1884.
Unfortunately the marble bust was severely damaged by a decapitation, that occurred during a handling incident, some time after the 1939 Exhibition in London. The art collection moved about a lot in the Second World War, and storage was a perennial issue in the 1950s-60s. Apparently, sculpture like this is incredibly vulnerable when being moved. The good news is, that the National Galleries of Scotland's NG1015, now re-baptised as 'Baby,' has since undergone considerable conservation works, which were completed in May 2017:
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| Anna - Head of a child - 'Baby' - after restoration, view 1 Sculpted in marble, signed and dated T. STUART BURNETT. A.R.S.A. 1887. Photograph © National Galleries Scotland. |
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| Anna - Head of a child - 'Baby' - after restoration, view 2 Sculpted in marble, signed and dated T. STUART BURNETT. A.R.S.A. 1887. Photograph © National Galleries Scotland. |
The conservation works on 'Baby' Anna included cleaning, attaching the broken sections, and filling areas of loss. The result is a success, and the National Galleries of Scotland's Conservation Department is to be thanked for the care it has taken, carrying out these repairs.
1885-1886: Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher, and Thomas Stuart Burnett produced several bas-relief portrait plaques of him, to commemorate his life and works. There are different formats and finishes of the plaques, in plaster, brass or other metals, often fabricated from the same casts. Although the first appearances of the plaques were as item 992, at the 59th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, and as item 717, at the 1st Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, both taking place in 1885; the examples that are more often found today, are dated 1886. The format of the plaster bas-relief plaque that is in our family collection, is 21.8 x 17.2 x 1.5 cm.; while those of the bronze or other cast metal plaques, in circulation, and for sale, are approximately 25 x 21 cm. Some of these plaques are encased in, or affixed to, rustic stained oak frames.
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| Thomas Carlyle Painted plaster bas-relief plaque, 21.8 x 17.2 x 1.5 cm, by Thomas Stuart Burnett, 1886. Private Collection (A). |
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| Thomas Carlyle Bronze bas-relief plaque, 25.3 x 21.2 cm, by Thomas Stuart Burnett, 1886. ART UK, Photograph CC0, by Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums. See also the eMuseum file by Aberdeen City. |
The following links give an insight of the other versions of this plaque that are in circulation:
The website of Saleroom.com informs us that on the 27th January 2016, Lyon and Turnbull of Edinburgh auctioned a lot 400, which was a bronze bas-relief portrait of Thomas Carlyle, by Thomas Stuart Burnett, 25 x 21 cm., mounted on a wooden plaque.
On the 17th December 2019, the Cotswold Auction Company sold a lot 190, of a Thomas Stuart Burnett (Scottish 1853 - 1888) bronze bas-relief portrait, depicting Thomas Carlyle (Scottish 1795 - 1881), this time in the form of a scroll. But apparently it was cast by the George Mancini Foundry, around 1933, and therefore about 45 years after the sculptor's death.
The following photograph shows a cast metal plaque bas-relief portrait of Thomas Carlyle, by Thomas Stuart Burnett, dated 1886, and mounted inside an ebonised frame:
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| Thomas Carlyle A cast metal plaque bas-relief portrait in an ebonised frame, 29 x 21 cm, signed 'Stuart Burnett / a.r.s.a. / 1886. Photograph by invaluable, Thomas Stuart Burnett, Public Domain, via Wikipedia Commons |
1885: Exhibits at the 59th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy
In the spring of 1885, at the 59th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 812, a Portrait Bust : Thomas Mansfield Guthrie; an item 815, a Portrait Bust of a Lady; an item 816, a Portrait Bust of a Lady; an item 824, a Portrait Bust : Arthur Edmunds, Esq.; an item 835, a Statue : 'Youth;' an item 82, a Bust of William Forrest, Esq., H.R.S.A. (R.S.A. Collection. In Plaster. Presented by Trustees of late Thos. Stewart Forrest, 1908.); an item 382 Statue: 'Rob Roy.' (R.S.A. Collection. In Plaster. Presented by John Aird, 1885.); an item 384, Bust of the late Rev. Mr. Davidson, for North Leith Parish Church; an item 861, a Bust: 'Anna.' (Same work as 1916, No. 41. Kelvingrove Art Gallery,
Glasgow. Bought 1888.); and also an item 992, a Medallion : Thomas Carlyle.
Concerning the item 812, please refer to the section '1884: Thomas Mansfield Guthrie.'
Concerning the item 824, could Arthur Edmunds, Esq. have been the man photographed by Peter Devine in 1867?
Concerning the item 835, please refer to the section '1884-1888 "Youth."'
Concerning the item 82, William Forrest, Esq., H.R.S.A. was a Scottish engraver who had already been photographed by David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson in 184X, and who later had his portrait painted by Norman Macbeth.
Concerning the item 382, please refer to the section '1884: "Rob Roy."'
Concerning the item 384, please refer to the section 'Circa 1885: Reverend Alexander Davidson M.A.'
Concerning the item 861, please refer to the section '1885-1887: Anna.'
Concerning the item 992, please refer to the section '1885-1886: Thomas Carlyle.'
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1885 exhibits.
1885: Exhibits at the 1st Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists
From July to September 1885, at the 1st Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 716, a marble bust of 'Little Rose,' and an item 717, a medallion of Thomas Carlyle.
Concerning the item 716, please refer to the section '1884-1885: Rose.'
Concerning the item 717, please refer to the section '1885-1886: Thomas Carlyle.'
1885-1887: Exhibits at The Exhibitions of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibitions)
From the first Monday in May to the first Monday in August of the years 1885 to 1887, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited three times at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), with an average of 1-2 works per year. Unfortunately we do not have the details of these exhibits.
1885: Alexander Selkirk, alias 'Robinson Crusoe'
In 1885, in Lower Largo, Fife, the bronze statue of Alexander Selkirk, who had been the inspiration of 'Robinson Crusoe,' would become one of Thomas Stuart Burnett's best-known works. Alexander Selkirk, who had been castaway for four years and four months on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific Ocean, had given Daniel Defoe the idea of his famous fictional character 'Robinson Crusoe.' The six-foot statue was sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett A.R.S.A., before being cast in bronze by Sir John Steell R.S.A. in the latter’s Leith foundry. It is displayed in a niche of a house, situated at the birthplace of Alexander Selkirk, on the Main Street of Lower Largo. The statue was paid for, and donated by a descendant of the Selkirks, David Gillies of Cardy House, Lower Largo.
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| Alexander Selkirk, alias 'Robinson Crusoe.' Bronze statue sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett, 1885. Photograph by Arcaist, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia. |
On page 164 of the chapter VII, 'Late Victorian Sculptors,' of her 1977 Ph.D. thesis entitled 'Nineteenth Century Scottish Sculpture,' now in the Edinburgh University Library, Robin Lee Woodward pointed out that Thomas Stuart Burnett was 'at the forefront of the movement towards achieving naturalistic representations in monumental sculpture. In both his Alexander Selkirk and Rob Roy he developed naturalistic portrayal to a degree that was considerably beyond that of their stylistic precursors such as Steell's Allan Ramsay and Mrs. Hill's Livingstone. In his statue of Alexander Selkirk not only do the tattered animal-skin clothes emphasize both surface and texture but so too do the bulging muscles and detailed anatomical modelling of both the legs and arms. Naturalism abounds in every detail, even down to the carelessly rolled socks at Selkirk's ankles.'
The unveiling of the statue, on the 11th December 1885, was an important event, and Dora Roden's excellent 'Vintage Lundin Links and Largo Blog' gives details of the statue unveiling preparations, explains how, on the unveiling day, 'Lower Largo was "en fete,"' gives details of the ceremony, and presents reports and photographs of the platform party. Following a speech by her husband the Earl of Aberdeen, the Countess of Aberdeen unveiled the bronze statue and a commemorative plaque.
In another article entitled 'Thomas Weir Stuart Burnett (1853-1888) - Sculptor of Crusoe Statue," Dora Roden shows beautiful black and white photographs of the statue on the day of its unveiling, and makes the very plausible suggestion that the model for the sculpture could have been T.S.B.'s close friend, George Whitton Johnstone.
Helen Smailes, a Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), at the Scottish National Gallery, was assisted by the staff of the Kirkcaldy Local Studies Library, when kindly retrieving a microfilmed extract of a 'Fife Free Press' article dated the 12th December 1885. The article described the details of the unveiling of the statue of 'Robinson Crusoe,' and stated that:
'There has now been completed by Mr T. Stuart Burnett, A.R.S.A., a life-size statue, in bronze, of Robinson Crusoe. It is placed in a niche in the wall in front of the cottage where he is said to have been born, and stands about six feet high. It is spiritedly designed and perfectly executed, and it certainly tells its own story. There is no dubiety as to who the figure is intended to represent. To all who have read the romance of his first voyage, it looks like an old friend. Crusoe is clad in his rough coat of goat's skins, with torn and tattered breeches of the same material. His muscular legs are bare from knees down. His feet are enclosed in skin strapped down. His left hand is slightly pressed on an old rifle, while his right shades his eyes, which are looking expectantly to sea as if to snatch the glimpse of a passing sail. An old Scottish claymore hangs by the left side, while an old war axe hangs from his right side. The cap is also of skin. Altogether the figure is a satisfactory model, and a true representation of Robinson Crusoe. We understand the statue was made from the clay in the foundry of Sir John Steel [sic.].'
Also kindly retrieved by Helen Smailes, via microfilm archives of the Kirkcaldy Local Studies Library, there was an article in the 'Fifeshire Advertiser' of the 12th December 1885, that related the speeches in much detail:
At one point, after confirming the satisfaction expressed by Lord Aberdeen, the Major General Briggs asked the crowd to give their vote of thanks to the sculptor, 'for what he has done. (Cheers.)
Mr Burnett, in reply, said -- I thank you very much indeed for your kind expression regarding the work I have been engaged on. There is nothing pleases me more than to find that this work is appreciated. It is very gratifying to me, and I again thank you for the kind way in which you have responded to the vote of thanks. I was fortunate in having such a subject as Robinson Crusoe. (Loud Cheers.)
Mr Gillies, in reply to the vote of thanks, said -- I thank you very much for the thanks you have so cordially given me. I have long had it in my mind to do something in memory of Robinson Crusoe. (Cheers.)
The statue bears the following inscription:--
'In memory of Alexander Selkirk, mariner, the original of Robinson Crusoe, who lived on the island of Jean Fernandez in complete solitude for 4 years and 4 months, died 1723, lieutenant of H.M.S. Weymouth, aged 47 years. This statue is erected by David Gillies, net manufacturer, on the site of the cottage in which Selkirk was born.'
At the end of the day a special train was waiting to take the Earl and Countess away: The unveiling had been a resounding success.
Later a bronze bust of the 'Robinson Crusoe' statue was exhibited by Thomas Stuart Burnett at the Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in 1886 (843); at the Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts in 1887 (888); and at the 3rd Aberdeen Artists’ Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists in 1887 (496).
The whereabouts of this, or these busts, were unknown to me, until Dora Roden of the 'Vintage Lundin Links and Largo Blog' kindly informed me about the book by Sheila MacKay, entitled 'Scottish Victorian Interiors,' first edited on the 1st November 1986: A chapter of this book, 'CARDY INSIDE OUT,' was written by Jeremy Bruce-Watt, who described a visit he made to Cardy House in the mid-1980s. The house had been built in 1871, for David Gillies, the successful net manufacturer who had donated the Alexander Selkirk statue. The impressive villa was ornately decorated inside and out, and with its furniture and fittings, it had retained its Victorian character for over a century. The family name was still Gillies, latterly Jardine, and they were descendants of the Selkirks. In his introduction, Jeremy Bruce-Watt wrote that 'The bronze bust of Alexander Selkirk by T. Stuart Burnett was commissioned by Cardy House's first owner' - and therefore by David Gillies. In the description of his visit, Jeremy Bruce-Watt wrote that 'Half way up the red pine staircase which ascends from the front door of Cardy House, the visitor comes face to face with Alexander Selkirk in his goatskins - a huge sombre bust, the only one cast from the statue at the birthplace.'
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| Alexander Selkirk alias 'Robinson Crusoe' Bronze bust on a wooden plinth, sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett, circa 1885. Photograph from 'Scottish Victorian Interiors,' published by Moubray House Press, 1986. |
The Jardines later left Cardy House, and though many of the archives and artefacts, from the house and factory, ended up spread across various museums and libraries, perhaps the bust still remains in the possession of the children of Ivy Jardine (called 'the chatelaine of Cardy House' by Jeremy Bruce-Watt).
In October 1987, the main statue of Alexander Selkirk was lifted out of its niche, on the site of the cottage in which Selkirk was born, to be cleaned and repaired in Perthshire. It was also transported to the Glasgow Garden Festival, which ran between the 24th April and the 26th September 1988, and was placed in the 'Water and Maritime' themed section. Here the statue was exhibited in a very undeserving way, at ground level and painted green! Happily the statue has now been restored to its original state, and has returned to its rightful place in Lower Largo.
Although the Alexander Selkirk statue is greatly loved, and has drawn tourists to Lower Largo from all over the world, some purists regret that feral cats are not included in the sculpture. Unlike Daniel Defoe's fictional 'Robinson Crusoe,' who had 'Man Friday' for company, the real Alexander Selkirk had survived by using goats for food and clothing, and a clowder of feral cats for warmth and pest control!
On the 1st March 1984, the Robinson Crusoe House, 99 and 103 Main Street, Lower Largo, including the statue by Thomas Stuart Burnett, became a Category B Listed Building in Leven, Kennoway and Largo, Fife (Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB8947).
Bronze casting is a multi-step, labour intensive process, and a Victoria and Albert Museum video, "Lost Wax Bronze Casting," shows one method of casting a figure in bronze. The video is silent, but there are subtitles, and a transcript is available via a button link. Please note that Thomas Stuart Burnett and the Steell foundry would have employed different production methods for the bronze statue of Alexander Selkirk, alias 'Robinson Crusoe,' but the main principles would have been similar.
It was said that once John Steell (knighted in 1876) had set up his foundry in Edinburgh in 1849, it was no longer necessary to send large-scale statues to England for casting. More information about bronze casting is given in the section, '1887-1888: General Gordon Monument.'
1886-1887: The Right Honourable William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician for over 60 years, and became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during a 12-year period between 1868 and 1894. William Ewart Gladstone was a pure Scot, born to Scottish parents: His grandfather, Thomas Gladstones, was an important merchant from Leith, and his maternal grandfather, Andrew Robertson, was Provost of Dingwall and a Sheriff-Substitute of Ross-shire. Because of his ancestry, Gladstone was particularly popular in Scotland, and Thomas Stuart Burnett must have been equally inspired by the man, as he honoured him with a special plaque portrait in bas-relief .
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| The Right Honourable William Ewart Gladstone A copper portrait bas-relief, with cast signature and date Stuart Burnett aRSa 1886, the plaque 31 x 22.8 cm. Photograph by invaluable, Public Domain, via Wikipedia Commons. High resolution images can be seen at Roseberys. |
In 1886, at the 2nd Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 501, an electro-plated electrotype plaque of the Rt Hon. W. E. Gladstone, which was on sale for £5 5s. Again, in 1887, at the 61st Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 704, a Medallion Electrotype : The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone.
Copper electrotype statues were made using an electroplating technique that had been developed in the 1830's. They were constructed using multiple negative moulds into which copper was deposited from a solution in electroplating tanks. Although large statues required careful assembly by brazing or soldering and the provision of an internal armature to prevent collapse, small electrotype plaques could be produced in one piece. It is useful to note that because electrotypes can be artificially patinated, they can easily be mistaken for bronzes.
1886: Exhibits at the 60th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy
In the spring of 1886, at the 60th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 838, a Portrait Bust in Marble; an item 840, a Bust in Marble of the late David Jack, Esq., J.P.; and an item 843, 'Robinson Crusoe' : Bust of Bronze Statue erected at Largo.
Concerning the item 838, a Portrait Bust in Marble, we have no further information.
Concerning the item 838, David Jack was a Scottish Justice of the Peace. Although the original functions of the Scottish Justices of the Peace were administrative and policing, as much judicial, they were intended to be lay persons, dispensing criminal justice, on a local basis.
Concerning the item 843, please refer to the section '1885: Alexander Selkirk, alias "Robinson Crusoe."'
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1886 exhibits.
1886: Main Entrance Tympanum at the International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art, Edinburgh
In 1886, the International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art, was a World's fair that took place in The Meadows, Edinburgh. Opened by Queen Victoria's grandson, Prince Albert Victor, it ran between the 6th May and the 30th October.
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| Edinburgh International Exhibition Perfect axial symmetry was the ideal vision. From the Caledonian/LNWR commemorative timetable. National Library of Scotland Acc.10222: John Bartholomew & Sons archive. Illustration of 1886, by courtesy of Pinterest.com. |
Helen Smailes, a Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), at the Scottish National Gallery, has kindly supplied information about the 1886 International Exhibition, sourced from the Edinburgh and Scottish department of Edinburgh Central Public Library (ref: YT 570 886 for the entire cache). Within a bound volume of miscellaneous catalogues (42552), the catalogue titled 'Exhibition of Industry, Science & Art, Edinburgh 1886. The Official Guide to the Exhibition with Notes of What to See in Edinburgh. Printed in the Exhibition by T & A Constable, Printers to Her Majesty,' states on page 5 that the initial idea for the Exhibition originated from a society of merchants known as the "B.B. Society," which by 1886 became the Merchant Society of Edinburgh. The Exhibition Buildings are described from page 5 onwards, and it is indicated that for the Grand Pavilion: 'The main doorway, which is the gift of Messrs Stuart & Co, contractors for the granolithic work throughout the building, is flanked by two columns, and is surmounted by a niche containing a group of sculpture by Mr T Stuart Burnett, representing the city of Edinburgh receiving exhibits of Art and Science.'
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| International Exhibition, Edinburgh, 1886. Idealised perspectives suggested that the building was symmetrical, when it wasn't. Publisher Shaw Brothers (Publishers), Photograph courtesy of canmore.org.uk collection/1956842 |
In pages 112-113, of his 2015 Ph.D. thesis, 'Displaying Edinburgh in 1886: The International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art,' which can now be found in the library of the University of Edinburgh, George Wilson Smith gave a slightly different description: "A colossal Minerva graced the gable arch; figures of Prometheus and Bacchus decorated the main entrance; while above the doorway itself a representation of 'Edina receiving Homage from Science and Art' lent symbolic weight to the enterprise."
We note that the name 'Edina' is of Scottish origin and is derived from the name of the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh. It means 'rich gift' or 'prosperous friend.' 'Edina' is a late 18th-century poetical form used by the Scottish poets Robert Fergusson (in 'Morning,' 1771), and Robert Burns (in 'Address to Edinburgh,' 1786).
In the footnote 40 of page 113 of his thesis, Smith has compared the subject of Thomas Stuart Burnett's sculpture group with that of 'France Crowning Art and Industry,' that had been sculpted by Elias Robert and Georges Diebolt, to decorate the main entrance of the 'Palace of Industry,' at the 1855 Paris Exhibition.
In page 129 of his 2015 Ph.D. thesis, Smith stated that 'Symbols of Scottishness were unavoidable. In the riot of allegory on the Grand Pavilion’s façade Edina presided over the burgh shields of municipal Scotland; the representations of the national poets were associated with their places of origin, Burns’s statue from Ayr and Tannahill’s from Paisley.' (Please note that the hyperlinks were not in the original text and are added here).
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| International Exhibition Edinburgh Unlike the perspective illustrations, the constructed building was asymmetrical. Photographer John Patrick, 15.2 x 19.9 cm, circa 1886, National Galleries of Scotland. |
Taken from the same viewpoint as above, a different photograph, with better contrast, is available at the Edinburgh Central Library, Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, in the yT570.886: William Cowan Scrapbook of 1886 Exhibition memorabilia. It can also be seen in illustration 3-4 on page 111, of George Wilson Smith's 2015 Ph.D. thesis, 'Displaying Edinburgh in 1886: The International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art.'
In page 540 of VOL. XLI. - FROM JANUARY TO JUNE, 1896, of the Illustrated Weekly Journal, 'Engineering,' (Various. Edited by: W H Maw and J Dredge, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons), an article of the edition of the 4th June 1886, entitled 'THE EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION,' described the doorway forming the main entrance to the Exhibition, and stated that it was: 'made
of "granolithic,'' and is the gift of Messrs. Stuart and Co. It is
formed of columns 20 ft. high, and of two draped figures, 6 ft. high,
which carry the lintel. Above the doorway there is a figure group, in
the same material, which was modelled by Mr. F. [sic.] Stuart Burnet
[sic.], sculptor, Edinburgh, the subject being "Edina receiving Homage
from Science and Art."'
Although it gives a distorted, compressed view of the building itself, a fine art poster entitled 'The Opening Of The International Exhibition At Edinburgh By Prince Albert Victor, UK, 1886,' has the advantage of showing the main entrance from a frontal viewpoint. But unless a precise illustration of the main entrance tympanum can be found, we will be unable to give further information about Thomas Stuart Burnett's creation for Edinburgh's 1886 International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art.
1886: Medallion in Memory of Robert Bryson, Esq.
Robert Bryson junior, who died on the 20th March 1886, had followed his father into the watch and clock business, and had become, amongst other things, Master of the Merchant Company of Edinburgh. His memorial was erected in Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh, embellished with a bronze medallion sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett.
Unfortunately the medallion has since disappeared, after being stolen or vandalised, which in either case, is a real disgrace! The excellent 'Paladyn Blog' has an article entitled 'Robert Bryson and Sons of Edinburgh,' that gives further details of the Bryson family and includes photographs, not only of a sculpture of Robert Bryson junior, by William Brodie, (Thomas Stuart Burnett's employer during his apprenticeship); but also of the vandalised monument, showing the empty space where Thomas Stuart Burnett's memorial medallion used to be:
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| Robert Bryson's memorial at Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh Thomas Stuart Burnett's medallion is missing! Photograph by John, on 'Paladyn Blog.' |
Hopefully someone will either be able to discover the missing medallion, or be able to contribute an earlier photograph that shows the memorial it in its initial state.
In 1887, at the 61st Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 706, a bronze Medallion : Part of Memorial of the late Robert Bryson, Esq.
1886: Exhibits at the 2nd Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists
From August to October 1886, at the 2nd Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited a Sketch Model of 'Rob Roy,' with the notes : 'executed life-size in marble for John Aird, London;' an item 494, a sculpture of 'Effie Deans;' an item 501, an electro-plated electrotype plaque portrait relief of the Rt Hon. W. E. Gladstone; an item 496, a sculpture group 'Eugene Aram,' executed in marble for A.D. Grimond, Esq., of Dundee; an item 499, a marble bust 'Baby;' and also an item 500, a sculpture of H.R.H. Albert Victor.
Concerning the 'Sketch Model of 'Rob Roy,' for more details, please refer to the section '1884: "Rob Roy."'
Concerning the item 494, the sculpture of 'Effie Deans,' was for sale in either marble at £100, or in plaster at £8 8s. For more details, please refer to the section '1882: Three Statuettes for the Scott Monument in Edinburgh.'
Concerning the item 501, the electro-plated electrotype plaque of the Rt Hon. W. E. Gladstone was for sale at £5 5s. For more details, please refer to the section '1886-1887: The Right Honourable William Ewart Gladstone.'
Concerning the item 496, for further details, please refer to the sections '1880-1881: "Eugene Aram"' and '1881: Commissions received from Alexander Dick Grimond of Dundee.'
Concerning the item 499, the marble bust 'Baby' was for sale, either in marble at £35, or in plaster at £3 3s. We do not know which baby was the subject of the bust, but it could have been either 'Rose' or 'Anna.'
Concerning the item 500, Prince Albert Victor had recently opened Edinburgh's International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art, which continued to run during the 2nd Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of 1886; and as public interest for the Prince was high, this could have prompted Thomas Stuart Burnett to produce his portrait. The sculpture of H.R.H. Albert Victor was for sale at £1 1s. Though we cannot be sure, it may have been the same as the Miniature Bust in Marble: H.R.H. Prince Albert Victor, which was later exhibited at the 61st Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy in 1887 (701).
1886-1887: Exhibits at the 10th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee
From the 2nd October 1886 to the 8th January 1887, at the 10th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 1156, a Thomas Carlyle medallion, for sale at £6 6s.; an item 1160, a 'Study of a Little Girl,' for sale at £3 3s.; and an item 1166, a Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., for sale at £5 5s.
Concerning the item 1156, please refer to the section '1885-1886: Thomas Carlyle.'
Concerning the item 1160, a 'Study of a Little Girl,' the title is a bit vague and we have no further information.
Concerning the item 1166, we presume that it was a plaque referred to in the section '1886-1887: The Right Honourable William Ewart Gladstone.'
1887: Birth of Margaret Irving Stuart Burnett ('Madge')
On the 21st January 1887, Thomas Stuart Burnett's third daughter, Margaret Irving Stuart Burnett was born in Edinburgh. Margaret was affectionately called 'Madge' by her family and friends.
James Thwaite Irving, who was Thomas Stuart Burnett's brother-in-law, painted a portrait of 'Madge.'
'Madge' became a teacher M.A., and led a long life, finally dying in 1994 at the grand old age of 107 years!
1887: 'The Farrier'
In 1887, although the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, and steam engines were beginning to take over farm work, horses remained essential, not only for personal use, but also for drawing carriages, tramcars, carts and drays. The photograph below shows a view of Edinburgh, that was taken circa 1885:
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| The Walter Scott Monument and Princes Street with horse-drawn carriages, Edinburgh c.1885 Photograph courtesy of canmore.org.uk collection/1164846 |
Today it's a different world in which automatisation and mechanisation dominate, while organic horse farming and personal equine activities continue to resist. Although the needs of society are in perpetual evolution, there is still a strong bond between horses and humans, and the skills of the farrier remain sought after and essential, to ensure the good health of our equine partners.
The following photographs of 'The Farrier,' by Thomas Stuart Burnett, are by courtesy of the National Museums Scotland. 'The Farrier,' now referenced K.2011.76, was donated to the museum in memory of George Stewart Sutherland, a sculptor of Galashiels, Scotland :
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| 'The Farrier' Painted plaster Statuette, ht 83 w 24 d 28 cm. by Thomas Stuart Burnett, 1887. Image © National Museums Scotland |
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| 'The Farrier' (detail) Painted plaster Statuette, by Thomas Stuart Burnett, 1887. Image © National Museums Scotland |
In 1887, Thomas Stuart Burnett presented an item 691, a Statuette : 'The farrier,' at the 61st Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, and an item 502, a Statuette : 'The farrier,' at the 3rd Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists.
An article about the 61st Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, that appeared in 'The Scotsman,' of the 8th March 1887, gave the following appraisal: 'T Stuart Burnett's "Farrier" (691) is a vigorous sketch...'
1887: Exhibits at the 61st Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy
In the spring of 1887, at the 61st Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 670, a Statue in Plaster : 'Bosom Friends;' an item 674, a Bust in Marble of the late Robert Riddle Stodart, Esq.; an item 680, a 'Portrait Bust of a Great-Grandmother;' an item 691, a Statuette : 'The farrier;' an item 701, a Miniature Bust in Marble: H.R.H. Prince Albert Victor; an item 704, a Medallion Electrotype : The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone; and an item 706, a Bronze Medallion : Part of Memorial of the late Robert Bryson, Esq.
Concerning the item 670, a Statue in Plaster : 'Bosom Friends,' we have no further information.
Concerning the item 674, Robert Riddle Stodart, Esq, is renowned for his books about Scottish heraldry, such as 'Scottish arms, being a collection of armorial bearings A. D. 1370-1678' Vol. I.
Concerning the item 680, a 'Portrait Bust of a Great-Grandmother;' it might have been of either his mother, Ann Burnett (née Stuart), or of his mother-in-law, Mary Irving (née Thwaite).
Concerning the item 701, a Miniature Bust in Marble: H.R.H. Prince Albert Victor: He was the first child of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, and his wife Alexandra of Denmark. Born in 1864 he became the Duke of Clarence and Avondale. An often shadowy character, he was continually surrounded by conspiracy theories and conjectures about his sexuality. He would die of pneumonia during the 1889–1890 worldwide pandemic at Sandringham House in Norfolk on 14 January 1892, less than a week after his 28th birthday. We don't know if Thomas Stuart Burnett's miniature bust had been commissioned, or if it was created in more than one example, because of the public interest in this Prince. We notice that at the 2nd Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists of 1886, Thomas Stuart Burnett had already exhibited an item 500, which was a sculpture of H.R.H. Albert Victor, for sale at £1 1s.
Concerning the item 691, please refer the the section '1887: "The Farrier."'
Concerning the item 704, please refer to the section '1886-1887: The Right Honourable William Ewart Gladstone.'
Concerning the item 706, please refer to the section '1886: Medallion in Memory of Robert Bryson, Esq.'
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1887 exhibits.
1887: Exhibit at the 26th Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts
From the 1st February to the 30th April 1887, at the 26th Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 888, a sculpture bust in bronze, 'Robinson Crusoe,' which was of the statue erected in Largo, and had been previously exhibited at the 60th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1886 (843). For further information, please refer to the section '1885: Alexander Selkirk, alias "Robinson Crusoe."'
1887: Her Majesty Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria had been the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland since the 20th June 1837, and her Golden Jubilee, which was held on the 20th June 1877, marked the 40th year of her reign.
'Her Majesty Queen Victoria' is a colossal sandstone bust created by Thomas Stuart Burnett for the Jubilee Buildings at 57-61 English Street, Dumfries. Opened to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee of 1887, the sandstone Jubilee Buildings and their bust of the Queen, today suffer from erosion and neglect. 'Mostly Ghostly' of Dumfries has kindly authorised me to reproduce the following photograph:
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| Her Majesty Queen Victoria Sculpted in sandstone by Thomas Stuart Burnett in 1887. In a niche of the Jubilee Buildings, 57-61 English Street, Dumfries. Photograph by 'Mostly Ghostly' of Dumfries. |
At the time of writing, the 'Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland' gives some details, together with reports and photographs, of a restoration in progress. As the street-level premises, just below the bust of Queen Victoria, are now occupied by a tattoo and body piercing studio, the present-day settings may seem rather incongruous!
The following reproduction is of an original card-mounted photograph, taken by the Studio Asher of Edinburgh, of a bust of 'Her Majesty Queen Victoria,' sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett:
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| Her Majesty Queen Victoria A bust sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett, circa 1887. Photograph from the original 14.8 x 10.0 cm by the Studio Asher, 34 Haddington Place, Edinburgh. Photograph Private Collection (W). |
Discussing the life of Thomas Stuart Burnett on page 37 of the 'Biographical and Descriptive Catalogue' of her 1977 Ph.D. thesis, entitled 'Nineteenth Century Scottish Sculpture,' now in the Edinburgh University Library, Robin Lee Woodward indicated that: "In 1887 with encouragement of his patron Aird he made preparations to move to London where several commissions awaited him."
Typewritten biographical notes left by my aunt Rosemary Mackenzie, née Munro, granddaughter of T.S.B., state that at the time of his death in 1888, Thomas Stuart Burnett 'had been going to London to do a head of Queen Victoria for Blackfriars Bridge.' A standing bronze statue of Queen Victoria on a plinth of pink granite, which is dated both 1893 and 1896, was erected on the Victoria Embankment, at the approach to the Blackfriars bridge, by Charles Bell Birch. We will probably never know for sure, but could the sculptor Charles Bell Birch have been appointed to take over an unfinished commission that had previously been awarded to the then-deceased Thomas Stuart Burnett?
1887: Robert Burns
Robert Burns, a Scottish poet and lyricist who lived between 1759 and 1796, is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language.
A Statuette, Robert Burns, was exhibited after Thomas Stuart Burnett’s death, at the 63rd Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, in 1889 (758). My aunt Rosemary Mackenzie, née Munro, granddaughter of Thomas Stuart Burnett, and herself a local historian, has written on the old photograph below that it was bought by Andrew Carnegie, the Skibo millionaire:
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| Robert Burns A statuette by Thomas Stuart Burnett, circa 1887. Photograph from the original 16.8 x 11.2 cm., by the Studio Asher, 34 Haddington Place, Edinburgh. Photograph Private Collection (F). |
On the 24th August 2006, a different Robert Burns statuette, executed in white marble, with a height of 115 cm (45.3 in.), signed and dated 1887, was sold as lot 810, at the Bonhams Scottish Sale, Edinburgh, for £23,500, including the buyer's premium. The Bonhams catalogue stated that the statuette had been gifted to the vendor's grandfather by a titled lady, after forty-five years of service, and that it was the one that had been exhibited posthumously at the 63rd Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in 1889 (758). Therefore, this statuette might have been the one that had been bought by Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate and the Skibo Castle millionaire:
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| Robert Burns A statuette in white marble, by Thomas Stuart Burnett, 115cm high, signed and dated 1887. Photograph Courtesy of Bonhams. |
According to his obituary in the 'Edinburgh Evening News' of Monday the 5th March, 1888, Thomas Stuart Burnett was 'before his death busy with a competitive statue of Burns for Ayr.' This would have been an attempt to win a commission for a statue of Robert Burns, which George Anderson Lawson would finally obtain, and execute, in 1892. Thomas Stuart Burnett's studies for the Ayr competition might explain why there is an original photograph of a second version of his statuette.
1887: 'Among the Brambles'
The following black and white photograph of 'Among the Brambles,' by Thomas Stuart Burnett, seems to have come from the previously mentioned 1988 correspondence between Helen Smailes, who was then an assistant at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (and has since become a Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), Scottish National Gallery), and my aunt Rosemary Mackenzie, née Munro, granddaughter of T.S.B., (herself a local historian). Please note that although I have obtained the authorisation from the National Galleries Scotland
to use their photograph below, I have been unable to find the contact
details of the rights holders of the sculpture itself. My best efforts
have been made to trace current owners of the sculpture depicted, and
the image is therefore reproduced in all good faith. The sculpture was
initially recorded by the National Galleries Scotland in a private
collection in Galashiels back in 1985, but the artworks have since been
dispersed:
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| 'Among the Brambles' (Anna Winnifred Stuart Burnett who later became Mrs Munro) Painted plaster bust, ht 54.6 cm., signed indistinctly on the back of the shoulders [T Stu]art Burnett. Photograph © National Galleries Scotland. |
We have this other version of the same bust, 'Among the Brambles,' with, on the back of the shoulders, a clear, dated inscription 'Stuart Burnett aRSa Sc. 1887.'
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| 'Among the Brambles' (Anna Winnifred Stuart Burnett, who later became Mrs Munro) Painted plaster bust, ht 55.5 cm., signed and dated on the back of the shoulders, 'Stuart Burnett aRSa Sc. 1887.' Private collection (W). |
In 1888, Thomas Stuart Burnett presented an item 710, a Bust : 'Among the Brambles,' at the 62nd Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy.
1887: 'A South African'
In 1888, Thomas Stuart Burnett presented an item 699, a Bust : 'A South African,' at the 62nd Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy. Since then, it had been lost from sight, until a splendid bronze sculpture appeared in the BBC 'Antiques Roadshow,' that was held on the 30th March 2022, at the Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh:
1887-1888: Monument to the 5th Duke of Buccleuch
After his birth in 1808, as the second son of Charles Montagu-Scott, 4th Duke of Buccleuch, and the Honourable Harriet Katherine Townshend, Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, the Fifth Duke of Buccleuch would have a remarkable destiny; not only in his duties as a great landowner, in major engineering projects, and in politics, but also as Honorary Colonel of the Edinburgh Militia, and as the host of King George IV, and later of Queen Victoria, during their visits to Scotland. He would have a major influence on the development of Edinburgh, establishing a new harbour at Granton, and ensuring its road and rail connections with the city.
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| Monument to Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, the 5th Duke of Buccleuch At West Parliament Square, on the Royal Mile, Edinburgh. Bronze statue by J.E. Boehm above a gothic hexagonal pedestal by the Architect R.R. Anderson. Bronze sculptures on the pedestal by D.W. & W.G. Stevenson, W.B. Rhind and T.S. Burnett, and G.C. Stanton. Thomas Stuart Burnett was the sculptor of the six upper panels, 1887-1888. Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
After the death of the Fifth Duke of Buccleuch in 1884, Edinburgh Council approved the design of a memorial. This statue is the first in a series of monuments erected along the Royal Mile of Edinburgh. Sculpted in bronze by Joseph Edgar Boehm (created baronet in 1889), and unveiled on the 7th February 1888, it stands on an ornate three-tier gothic hexagonal pedestal, designed by the Architect Robert Rowand Anderson (knighted in 1902), and decorated by the bronze reliefs and statuettes of five other sculptors.
Around the the statue, on the highest tier of the pedestal, there is a bronze hexagonal gallery with mounted huntsmen on galloping horses and their hounds chasing a stag, sculpted by the brothers David Watson and William Grant Stevenson.
In the middle tier, there are six bronze allegorical corner figures, sculpted by William Birnie Rhind, representing Fortitude, Liberality, Temperance, Prudence, Charity and Truth, and in between these there are six bronze panels that are sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett, illustrating scenes from the life of the Duke:
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| At the North-West: The coat of arms of the Duke of Buccleuch on a garter plate. On the Monument to Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, the 5th Duke of Buccleuch. Bronze panel, sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett, circa 1887. Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. |
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| At the West: The Duke receiving Queen Victoria at Dalkeith on the occasion of her first visit to Scotland in 1842. On the Monument to Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, the 5th Duke of Buccleuch. Bronze panel, sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett, circa 1887. Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. |
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| At the South-West: The Duke planning the harbour at Granton. On the Monument to Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, the 5th Duke of Buccleuch. Bronze panel, sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett, circa 1887. Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. |
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| At the South-East: The 70th birthday dinner given by the tenantry of the Duke in Edinburgh in 1878. And at the East: The installation of the Duke as Chancellor of Glasgow University in 1878. On the Monument to Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, the 5th Duke of Buccleuch. Bronze panel, sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett, circa 1887. Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. |
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| At the North-East: The Duke as Colonel of Militia at the head of his regiment On the Monument to Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, the 5th Duke of Buccleuch. Bronze panel, sculpted by Thomas Stuart Burnett, circa 1887. Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. |
Interestingly, the two sculptors of this middle tier, Thomas Stuart Burnett and William Birnie Rhind, were second cousins, their common ancestors being their great grandparents John Rhind and Helen Gill Dingwall, who had married at Banff on the 29th January 1798.
In the lowest tier of the hexagonal pedestal, there are six bronze panels which are sculpted by George Clark Stanton and illustrate scenes from the Duke's Scott family history, while the six corner buttresses are seats of bronze rampant stags holding shields, sculpted by the brothers David Watson and William Grant Stevenson.
An article in the 'Glasgow Herald' of the 8th February 1888 included a detailed description of all aspects of the design of the Monument to the 5th Duke of Buccleuch, and also mentioned that 'the castings were, for the most part, done by Mr Walker's foundry in Grove Street.'
In private correspondence, Helen Smailes, a Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), Scottish National Gallery, has pointed out that 'Adam Walker was manager of Sir John Steell's bronze foundry in Edinburgh's Grove Street. A debt owing to Walker is recorded in the inventory of Stuart Burnett's personal estate at his death and may relate to the Buccleuch memorial or the Gordon memorial for Aberdeen or both projects.'
On the 14th December 1970, the Statue of the Fifth Duke of Buccleuch, West Parliament Square, Edinburgh, became a Category A Listed Building in Edinburgh (Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB27844).
1887-1888: Exhibits at the 3rd Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists
From December 1887 to February 1888, at the 3rd Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 506, a sculpture entitled 'Playmates;' an item 502, a sculpture statuette 'The farrier;' and also an item 496, a bronze bust of 'Robinson Crusoe.'
Concerning the item 506, 'Playmates,' it is interesting that exhibiting alongside him, Katherine Anne Fraser-Tytler coincidentally presented an item 859, which, also entitled 'Playmates,'
was a terracotta sculpture on sale for £3 3s. Like Thomas Stuart
Burnett, Katherine Anne Fraser-Tytler had contributed a sculpture to the
Walter Scott Monument. Her statuette had been a small figure of 'Constance,' inspired by Walter Scott's poem, 'Marmion.' We have no further information about Thomas Stuart Burnett's 'Playmates.'
Concerning the item 502, the sculpture statuette 'The farrier' had previously been exhibited at the 61st Exhibition of the Royal
Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, in 1887 (691).
Please refer to the section '1887: "The Farrier."'
Concerning the item 496, the bronze bust of 'Robinson Crusoe' was presumably a copy of the bust of the statue which had been erected at Lower Largo. Please refer to the section '1885: Alexander Selkirk, alias "Robinson Crusoe."'
1888: Exhibits at the 62nd Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy
In the spring of 1888, at the 62nd Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 699, a Bust : 'a South African;' an item 705, a Bust : 'a Promising Youth;' an item 710, a Bust : 'Among the Brambles;' an item 714, a Posthumous Bust : John Reid, Esq.; an item 720, a Bust : James Irving, Esq.; and also an item 721, a Bust : Edmund Burton, Esq., Engraver.
Concerning the item 699, please refer to the section '1887: "A South African."'
Concerning the item 705, a Bust : 'a Promising Youth' might have been a follow-up of an item 835, a Statue : 'Youth' which had been displayed at the 59th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1885. However, unless new information comes to light, we will be unable to verify this hypothesis. Helen Smailes, a Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), Scottish National Gallery, has kindly brought to my attention the actions of the committee of The Royal Association For Promotion of The Fine Arts in Scotland (R.A.P.F.A.S.), concerning the works of Thomas Stuart Burnett, that included the proposal of a posthumous 'reproduction in bronze' of 'a Promising Youth.' However, after consideration, this offer was eventually refused by the Board of Manufactures (see Appendix 4). For more information about the bust , please refer to the section '1884-1888 : "Youth."'
Concerning the item 710, please refer to the section '1887: "Among the Brambles."'
Concerning the item 714, a Posthumous Bust : John Reid, Esq., we have no further information.
Concerning the item 720, a Bust : James Irving, Esq., this may well have been the portrait of the sculptor's brother-in-law, James Thwaite Irving, a Scottish artist who trained with the impressionists at Barbizon, France.
Concerning the item 721, a Bust : Edmund Burton, Esq., Engraver, we have no further information.
Unfortunately, we have no further information about the 1888 exhibits.
1887-1888: General Gordon Monument
Major-General Charles George Gordon CB, also known as Gordon of Khartoum, took part in some of the most significant conflicts of the Victorian era. His first overseas military assignment, as a member of the Royal Engineers, had been in the Crimean War, during the Siege of Sevastopol. There he showed great aptitude and bravery, for which he not only received the Crimean War medal, but also the Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, awarded by the French. He then participated in an international commission in Romania, which decided the new border between the Russian and Ottoman Empires, before being sent to do similar work in Armenia. After a return to Chatham, he volunteered to serve in China, and the new posting that ensued, involved the destruction of the Emperor’s Summer Palace, and the capture of Peking. Later he would command the 'Ever Victorious Army,' a mercenary force that would suppress the Taiping Rebellion. After another return to Britain, he was once more sent overseas, firstly to Romania on an international commission, and then to Egypt, where he won the respect of the Ottoman Khedive, Isma’il Pasha. Gordon became Governor of South Sudan, where he was in continuous conflict with a corrupt system, and when he disobeyed orders and attempted to defend Khartoum from a siege by the forces of Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad, he did not receive the reinforcements he had desperately requested from the British government. In January 1885, not only Khartoum was taken, but also Gordon was killed, and his body was never found. But, as was the case before his death, Gordon remained one of the most famous and admired Christian military heroes of Victorian Britain, and his exploits were to have lasting effects on people and places throughout the globe.
News of Gordon’s death provoked an outpouring of public grief across Britain, which in turn led to a wave of memorial building. It was in this context that, after a meeting held on the 10th April 1885, the members of the Clan Gordon, lead by the Marquess of Huntly, the Earl of Aberdeen and the Duke of Richmond launched a subscription fund with a target of £1000, for a sculpture in Aberdeen.
An article dated 18th June 1888, of the 'Aberdeen Journal,' stated that by the 26th March 1886, the sub-committee of the fund 'had been informed that a good bronze statue could not be obtained for less than £700. The sub-committee therefore... recommended that the statue should be of bronze, and that one should be made from a model prepared by Mr Stuart Burnett, A.R.S.A., Edinburgh, believing that a statue executed according to that model would be at once imposing and effective, and worthy to be handed down to future generations a a memorial of the great hero.' As the total cost with pedestal was estimated to be about £1000, they earnestly appealed to fellow clansmen to raise the required amount. 'On 15th September, 1886, the Marquis [sic.] of Huntly, convener of the committee, intimated that at a meeting held in Aberdeen on 10th September, £610 had been announced; that Mr Stuart Burnett had been instructed to proceed with the statue.'
Consequently, Thomas Stuart Burnett received one of his last commissions, from the Clan Gordon, for a statue of General Gordon to be installed at Schoolhill, Aberdeen.
As the collected amount had fallen short of the estimated £1000, the local architect James Matthews of Springhill, a former Lord Provost of Aberdeen, generously undertook to collect further subscriptions to finance the pedestal.
The photographs that follow show the sculptor and his staff at work in his studio at 2 Annandale Street, Edinburgh:
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| Thomas Stuart Burnett and his staff beginning the statue of General Gordon Roughing out the statue, in T.S.B.'s studio, circa 1887. The helper at top left was Italian. This photograph comes from the family archives. |
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| Statue of General Gordon with the sculptor Thomas Stuart Burnett A pause during finishing touches to the statue, in the studio, circa 1887. This photograph comes from the family archives. |
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| Thomas Stuart Burnett with the statue of General Gordon Finishing touches to the statue, in the studio, circa 1887. Photograph 14.8 x 10.0 cm by Asher of 34 Haddington Place, Edinburgh. Photograph Private collection (W). |
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| Thomas Stuart Burnett with the statue of General Gordon Close-up of the finishing touches to the statue, in the studio, circa 1887. Photograph 14.5 x 9.6 cm by R. Brown of 16 Brougham Street, Edinburgh. Photograph Private collection (W). |
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| The Statue of General Gordon by Thomas Stuart Burnett After Finishing touches, in the studio, circa 1887. Photograph 15.0 x 9.8 cm by Asher of 34 Haddington Place, Edinburgh. Photograph Private collection (W). |
A 'chip' from 'The Building News,' of the 18th March 1887, announced that 'Mr. T. Stuart Burnett, A.R.S.A., has just finished in clay, for the Gordon clan, a colossal statue of the late General Gordon, which, after being cast in bronze at Sir John Steell's foundry at Edinburgh, will be erected in Aberdeen. The statue is 9ft. in height, and will stand on a granite pedestal of the same altitude.' It is hardly surprising that after the success of the Alexander Selkirk statue for Lower Largo in 1885, Thomas Stuart Burnett renewed his confidence in Steell's foundry, which, totally dedicated to sculpture, was situated on Grove Street, Edinburgh. The Web page Frenchsculpture.org provides useful definitions pertaining to the art of Sculpture (types, creation processes, casting methods...). In the 1880s there was some secrecy surrounding the bronze casting techniques, and the methods used to create the moulds. Because the above photographs are monochromes, it is difficult to tell if the final stage ones are of the clay statue, or of the finished statue in bronze. What we do know, is that in his article concerning Thomas Stuart Burnett, dated Monday the 5th March 1888, the reporter of the 'Aberdeen Journal, and General Advertiser for the North of Scotland,' wrote that 'One of his principal works, the statue of General Gordon for Aberdeen, is completed, and is standing in his studio in bronze.'
For details of a modern multi-step and labour intensive, lost wax, bronze casting process, please refer to Sutton Betti's 'Bronze Casting Process' page. Apart from the new materials and tools, the method remains similar to that used by the sculptors and founders of the 19th century. Other information, about the casting techniques, can be found in the section '1885: Alexander Selkirk, alias 'Robinson Crusoe.''
An article, in the 'Aberdeen Journal' of the 28th May 1888, stated that the statue was erected on the 26th May at Schoolhill, Aberdeen, after being transported from Edinburgh via the North British Railway:
'Mr Rhind, Edinburgh, manager to the late Mr Stuart Burnett ARSA, accompanied the work, and along with the contractor Mr George Leslie Jamieson [of the Crown Granite Works], Aberdeen, and his manager Mr James Hadden, superintended the erection of the statue...The statue, which is in bronze, was cast in the foundry of Sir John Steill [sic]. lt is 9 feet 7 inches in height and represents the gallant officer bareheaded in undress uniform of a British officer.'
We presume that Mr Rhind was either T.S.B.'s second cousin, William Birnie Rhind, or his third cousin, John Stevenson Rhind. (For more information about the cousin William Birnie Rhind, please refer to the section '1887-1888: Monument to the 5th Duke of Buccleuch').
Today, Thomas Stuart Burnett's statue stands on a Correnie granite plinth, designed by James Matthews of Springhill, the local architect who had launched the second subscription. The Correnie granite of the plinth, matches the stonework of the neighbouring Art Gallery, and the Gateway to Robert Gordon College, at Schoolhill, Aberdeen. The name of the college is coincidental, as there is no known family connection between the General Charles Gordon, and Robert Gordon. The larger-than-life statue of General Charles Gordon, shows him wearing his regimental uniform of the Royal Engineers, holding his rattan cane in his right hand:
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| Statue of General Gordon Bronze statue by Thomas Stuart Burnett, on a Correnie granite plinth, at Schoolhill, Aberdeen, 1887-1888. Photograph by Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia. |
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| Statue of General Gordon (Detail) Bronze statue by Thomas Stuart Burnett, on a Correnie granite plinth, at Schoolhill, Aberdeen, 1887-1888. Photograph by AlasdairW, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia. |
Sadly, Thomas Stuart Burnett would not be able to attend the unveiling ceremony presided by the Marquess of Huntly on Saturday 16th June 1888, as the event took place three months after his death.
My Aunt Rosemary Mackenzie (who née Munro, was T.S.B.'s granddaughter) has left me the following handwritten note:
'The sculptor worked from a photo taken before he left for the Sudan to be killed by the Mahdi's forces at the Siege of Khartoum 1885. Both T Stuart Burnett whose marble statue of Rob Roy caught the attention of Queen Victoria at Edinburgh's International Exhibition, and
Sir Henry Gordon, the general's brother, died before the statue was unveiled: Your Gt. Grandmother attended the unveiling.'
The Great Grandmother that my Aunt referred to, was of course Thomas Stuart Burnett's widow, Margaret Burnett (née Irving).
An article in the 'Glasgow Herald' of the 18th June 1888, stated that: 'The statue is the outcome of a movement originated in 1885 by the Marquis [sic] of Huntly, the present head of the clan Gordon, and cost about £800.'
An article in the 'Aberdeen Journal,' of the 18th June 1888, stated that: 'By subscriptions received subsequent to 10th September 1886, and the generosity of Mr Burnett in accepting a comparatively small figure for his work, and the assistance of the then Lord Provost and Council, the committee were enabled to accomplish their object, according to the desire of the promoters and subscribers, free from debt.'
However, a remaining debt of £200, due to the deceased by the Committee for the erection of the Statue of General Gordon at Aberdeen, was recorded in the inventory of T.S.B.'s estate, lodged at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court, on the 10th April 1888. This sum would probably have been paid after the 26th May 1888, once the statue had been erected in situ. Full details of the inventory of T.S.B.'s estate are given in Appendix 3.
On the 26th January 1889, the 'Penny Illustrated Paper' published an article entitled 'GORDON'S DEATH,' that gave more information about the General's fate at Khartoum, and compared with pen and ink illustrations, the statue realised at Trafalgar Square, London, by William Hamo Thornycroft R.A., with that at Schoolhill, Aberdeen, by Thomas Stuart Burnett A.R.S.A.
On the 12th January 1967, Thomas Stuart Burnett's statue of General Gordon, Schoolhill, Aberdeen, became a Category B Listed Building in Aberdeen (Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB20009).
1888: Thomas Stuart Burnett's Last Walk
Our aunt Rosemary Mackenzie, a granddaughter of Thomas Stuart Burnett, left my siblings and I, some typewritten biographical notes, which confirm the details of the story that she and our Grandmother, Anna Winnifred Stuart Burnett Munro, used to tell us about T.S.B.'s last walk.
On or around Tuesday the 28th February 1888, Thomas Stuart Burnett had unexpectedly met up with friends from the Royal Scots Greys, a famous Scottish cavalry unit. On the spur of the moment (no pun intended), he had then decided to go on a route march with them in the Pentland Hills, and they were caught in torrential rain. Totally soaked during the march, Thomas Stuart Burnett took a cold bath upon his return, and was ill for four days. Probably already weakened by dust ingestion at his studio, his condition worsened, and, as reported by many newspapers, he died of 'a congestion of the lungs,' at 7 Melgund Terrace, Edinburgh, on Saturday the 3rd March 1888. The Extract of an Entry in a Register of Deaths states that T.S.B.'s death took place at 10:10 p.m., and that the 'cause of death' was a 'Double pneumonia, as certified by Alex Black MB.'
1888: The Funeral, and Thomas Stuart Burnett's Last Resting Place
The funeral took place on Wednesday the 7th March 1888, and was well attended by friends and local personalities. In order that readers can easily discover who was who, I have taken the liberty of adding hyperlinks and adapting the article of 'The Scotsman,' that appeared on Thursday the 8th March 1888:
'The funeral of Mr T. Stuart Burnett, A.R.S.A., took place from the residence of the deceased, Melgund Terrace, to the Dean Cemetery. Between one and two o'clock the members of the Royal Scottish Academy assembled in their chambers at the foot of the Mound, where a short service was conducted by the Rev. Dr. MacGregor, chaplain to the Academicians' (who was also minister of St. Cuthbert's, Edinburgh). 'The following is a list of those present:'
Amongst the Academicians present, George Hay, R.S.A., was an artist who was often inspired by the works of Walter Scott, and had founded the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolours in 1878. John Hutchison, R.S.A., was a gifted sculptor who had studied in Rome. William Darling McKay, R.S.A., LL.D., was influenced by the Dutch Hague School, and painted his landscapes with a 'plein air' technique. Robert Gibb, R.S.A., was a very successful artist, particularly with military paintings, but also with portraits. Otto Theodor Leyde, R.S.A., came from Prussia and was a very successful portraitist, as well as being Librarian of the R.S.A. John Smart, R.S.A., R.S.W., was a Scottish landscape painter, who enjoyed painting golf courses. William McTaggart, R.S.A., R.S.W., was a Scottish landscape and marine painter who was influenced by Impressionism. David Watson Stevenson, R.S.A., was a sculptor, who, like T.S.B., had been an apprentice of William Brodie, R.S.A. Waller Hugh Paton, R.S.A. was the brother of Sir Joseph Noel Paton, F.R.S.A., (the designer of the R.S.A. medal), and he specialised in landscape painting. William Ewart Lockhart, R.S.A. was an artist who studied in Spain and had received a commission from Queen Victoria. William Fleming Vallance, R.S.A., specialised in oil and water colour painting of marine subjects. William Beattie Brown, R.S.A., painted scenes from the Scottish lowlands, England and the Continent, but was best known as a painter of Highland scenery. George Clark Stanton, R.S.A., was a sculptor who studied in Italy, and was painting in his later years. James Lawton Wingate, R.S.A., who had studied in Italy and became well known for his landscapes, would later be knighted and be elected President of the R.S.A.
Amongst the Associates present, James Hamilton, A.R.S.A. mainly painted scenes of Highland life and history, and occasionally landscape and genre-subjects. Tom Scott, A.R.S.A., (later R.S.A.), R.S.W., was an artist who mastered watercolours of Scotland but had also made many painting tours on the Continent. William Fergusson Brassey Hole, A.R.S.A., (later R.S.A.) was a painter, illustrator, etcher, and engraver, known for his industrial, historical and biblical scenes. James Campbell Noble, A.R.S.A., (later R.S.A.), was particularly well known for his landscape paintings. George Aikman, A.R.S.A., began as an engraver, before turning to painting a variety of subjects, in various media. George Whitton Johnstone, A.R.S.A., (later R.S.A.), was not only a great landscape painter in both oil and watercolour, but also had been one of Thomas Stuart Burnett's closest friends, and his best man in 1882. Joseph Denovan Adam, A.R.S.A., (later R.S.A.), R.S.W., was specialised in painting Highland landscapes and Highland cattle. Thomas Stuart Burnett had sculpted and exhibited a bust of Mrs Denovan Adam, at the R.S.A. of 1883 (809), and at the R.G.I.F.A. of 1883 (884). William Grant Stevenson, A.R.S.A., (later R.S.A), was a skilled and successful Scottish sculptor who also painted animal life. Charles Martin Hardie, A.R.S.A., (later R.S.A.) was a successful oil and watercolour painter. At the R.S.A. of 1883 he had exhibited 'Friendly Critics' which depicted himself with T.S. Burnett, G.W. Johnstone, J.S. Fraser (R.S.W.), R. Noble (later R.S.A.) and the poet A. Anderson. Thomas Stuart Burnett had sculpted and exhibited a 'Bust of C. Martin Hardie' at Dundee in 1880 (1398). Arthur Melville, A.R.S.A., R.S.W., was a gifted Scottish watercolourist who had studied with the Impressionists at Grez-sur-Loing, before travelling to the Middle East, and becoming specialised in Orientalist subjects.
The Professor John Stuart Blackie, F.R.S.E., was a Scottish Scholar and Patriot, and had been a Professor of Greek who raised the money to endow a Chair of Celtic at Edinburgh before his retirement in 1882. William Forrest, H.R.S.A., (a honorary member of the R.S.A.), was an engraver of landscapes and architecture, and was also a photographer. T.S.B. had exhibited a bust of William Forrest at the R.S.A. of 1885 (82).
'At the conclusion of the service the party drove to Melgund Terrace, where they joined the funeral procession. Other bodies represented at the funeral were :-- Masonic Lodge of St David's, Rev. Mr Glasse, chaplain.' John Glasse was a Church of Scotland Minister at Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh. He was also a Freemason, initiated in Lodge St. David (No. 36) and became the Master of that Lodge in 1892. Additionally he would serve as Grand Chaplain to the Grand Lodge of Scotland from 1889 to 1890. As the Lodge St. David was officially represented, this could either signify that T.S.B. had been a Freemason, or it was because he had sculpted three statuettes of the Walter Scott monument (Walter Scott having been a member of the Lodge St. David). Additionally, The Scottish Artists' Club, the Architectural Association and the St George Quartett [sic.] Club were represented.
Personal friends who attended, included the following people: James Douglas, was a fine watercolourist who had moved to Edinburgh from Dundee. John Simpson Fraser, R.S.W., was a watercolourist who married T.S.B.'s elder sister, Euphemia Burnet (also known as 'Phemie'). J. L. Ramsay and David Spence were friends about whom we have found no further information. George Webster was a sculptor from Dundee, who studied in Italy and produced a variety of sculpture work. John Rhind (who would be elected A.R.S.A. less than a week before his death in 1892), was a sculptor who came from Banff to live and work in Edinburgh. He was a first cousin once removed to T.S.B., and was the father of the two sculptors William Birnie Rhind and J. Massey Rhind, and of the architect Sir Thomas Duncan Rhind (all three of whom therefore being second cousins of T.S.B.). James Michael Brown (the son of the Fife engraver Tom Brown), was an Edinburgh watercolourist who became renowned for his golfing scenes. Like T.S.B., he was one of the Blairgowrie boys.
Wreaths were not only sent from his two major patrons, Mr John Aird, M.P., London, and Mr A. Grimond, Dunmore, Dundee; but also from others who could not attend.
Thomas Stuart Burnett was laid to rest in the north section of the original Dean Cemetery, towards the western end, where he would later be joined by his wife Margaret Irving, and by his daughters Rosemary, 'Rose,' and Margaret, 'Madge.'
When Thomas Stuart Burnett died, his widow, Margaret Burnett (née Irving), was left with three girls; Rosemary Stuart Burnett, 'Rose,' aged 4 years; Anna Winnifred Stuart Burnett, 'Winnie,' aged 3 years; and Margaret Irving Stuart Burnett, 'Madge,' aged 1 year. After her loss, Margaret Burnett went to stay with her parents at 17 Lutton Place, Edinburgh.
1888-1889: Posthumous Sales, an Auction, and the Memorial to Thomas Stuart Burnett
Thomas Stuart Burnett had died intestate, and details of the inventory of his estate (Edinburgh Sheriff Court SC70/1/265, lodged 10 April 1888) are given in 'Appendix 3.' After the subtraction of the sculptor's debts and funeral expenses from his personal estate, there was a residue of only £188-7s-2d, while the Committee for the erection of the Statue of General Gordon at Aberdeen still owed £200-00s to the deceased. During the years 1888-1889, the sculptor’s widow suddenly found herself in dire financial straits, and the Royal Association For Promotion of The Fine Arts in Scotland, (R.A.P.F.A.S.), stepped in, not only to purchase notable examples of T.S.B.'s work, that were assessed to be of national importance, but at the same time attempting to assist her. For more information, please refer to the 'Actions of the R.A.P.F.A.S. Committee Concerning the Works of Thomas Stuart Burnett' in 'Appendix 4.'
A sale of art works was also organised for 'The Burnett Memorial,' as announced in an article of the 'Glasgow Evening Post,' that appeared almost a year after T.S.B.'s death, on Thursday 21st February 1889:
'On Saturday the collection of pictures in oil and water-colour contributed by brother artists for a proposed memorial to the late Thomas S. Burnett, A.R.S.A., and for the benefit of his widow and family, will be sold in Edinburgh at Dowell's. They are on view to-day and to-morrow. The catalogue includes works by Otto Leyde, A. S. Boyd, J. D. Adam, Robert McGregor, D. Farquharson, W. Hole, A. K. Brown, J. L. Wingate, W. D. Mackay, J. Campbell Noble, and other well-known artists. Mr. Burnett's private cabinet will also be disposed of.'
Dowell's Ltd. was a company of auctioneers of Edinburgh. Otto Theodore Leyde, R.S.A., had been born in Prussia but was a naturalised British citizen since 1881, and was a genre and landscape artist who specialised in Scottish subjects. Alexander Stuart Boyd, R.S.W., was an artist who specialised in illustrations for magazines. Joseph Denovan Adam, A.R.S.A., (elected R.S.A. in 1892), R.S.W., was an artist specialised in Highland landscapes and local farm life, especially Highland cattle. T.S.B. had exhibited a Portrait Bust : Mrs. Denovan Adam at the 57th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, in 1883 (809), and at at the 22nd Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, in 1883 (884). Robert McGregor, R.S.A., was an artist who specialised in figure paintings of rural life, with a style influenced by the French and Dutch schools. David Farquharson, A.R.A., was one of the Blairgowrie boys who moved to Edinburgh and specialised in Scottish landscapes. William Brassey Hole, R.S.A., was an artist illustrator, etcher and engraver, who became well-known for his industrial, historical and biblical scenes. Alexander Kellock Brown, (who later was elected A.R.S.A. and R.S.A.), was specialised in landscapes, and although he was born in Edinburgh, he lived in or around
Glasgow. James Lawton Wingate, A.R.S.A., (later elected R.S.A.), was a talented landscape painter who became president of the Royal Scottish Academy, and was knighted in 1920. William Darling McKay, R.S.A., (and later LL.D), was an artist who, during a stay in Holland, was inspired by the Dutch Hague School's 'plein air' technique, and subsequently used it when painting Scottish landscapes. James Campbell Noble, A.R.S.A., (later R.S.A.), was a talented landscape painter and became the President of the Scottish Arts Club.
Kindly retrieved by Helen Smailes, (a Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), at the Scottish National Gallery), from the Scotsman database via the National Library of Scotland, 2025, an article in 'The Scotsman,' of the 23rd February 1889, gave details of an auction held, 'within Dowell's Fine Art Gallery, No 18 George Street' Edinburgh. It was 'A Collection of Paintings in Oil and Water-Colour, contributed by Brother artists for a proposed memorial to The Late Thomas S Burnett ARSA, for the Benefit of his Widow and Family.'
'There are upwards of seventy pictures, amongst which are the following: - "Scarba Pier" by W Hole RSA; "Spring Time" by W D McKay RSA; "The Edge of the Wood" by J Lawton Wingate RSA; "Brig o'Feugh, Banchory" by D Farquharson ARSA; "Hay Time" by C Martin Hardie ARSA; "A Stable at Tangier" by R Alexander RSA; "Road Scene, Berwickshire" by J C Noble ARSA; "On the Lunan Burn, Blairgowrie" by G W Johnstone ARSA; "West Looe, Cornwall" by J R Reid; "A Lonely Shore" by Duncan Cameron; "A Peony Rose" by G D Armour; "The Birthplace of Sir Daniel Macnee" by James Douglas; "Madge" by H W Kerr; "French River Scene" by Tom Scott; "John Smith, My Fellow Fine" by A S Boyd; "Ledaig Moss" by A K Brown; "Cookham-on-Thames" by T Hunt; and others by Otto Leyde RSA; PW Adam ARSA; Robert McGregor RSA; G O Reid ARSA; Duddingstone Herdman; P S Nisbet; R Noble, Hector Chalmers, Austen Brown & c; and in Sculpture, "Hero", original modeI by D W Stevenson RSA; "Baillie Nicol Jarvie" by W G Stevenson ARSA; "The Lifeboatman" by W B Rhind; and "Lord Beaconsfield" [ie Disraeli], George Webster.
Also, A Small Cabinet of Pictures, the property of Mr Burnett, including - "The Embarkation" by L David; "Highland Cattle" by J Denovan Adam ARSA; "Bristol Harbour" by J C Noble ARSA; "Winter" by John Blair; "An Old Stable" by J lrving; "An Old Salt" by H W Kerr; "The Road to the Village" and "Harvest" by James Douglas; "Harbour Scene" by R Noble; "A Winter Day" by Tom Scott; "The Sculptor's Studio" by J S Fraser & c. Particulars in catalogue. On View To-day.'
At first it was thought that a complete list of the 'other well-known artists,' and more details of the paintings that were for sale, might be available in the Edinburgh City Archives, that holds business records including 'Dowells Ltd, auctioneers, Edinburgh (Accn 499) Sales catalogues 1876-1936.' But after a very helpful member of staff had checked the Dowells sales catalogues for Helen Smailes, we were disappointed to find out that all of these concerned built property, and not works of art.
Both James Thwaite Irving (the brother of Margaret Stuart Burnett, née Irving), and John Simpson Fraser (the husband of Euphemia Fraser, née Burnett) were T.S.B.'s brothers-in-law. The title of Fraser's painting, "The Sculptor's Studio," could either have been completely coincidental, or might have depicted Thomas Stuart Burnett's work place. I will only know for sure, if a reader recognises and sends me a photograph of Fraser's painting, or if it is put on sale some day.
It's sad to read that the widow had to part with 'a small cabinet of pictures' that included paintings by Thomas Stuart Burnett's close friends and family members. On the other hand, it is good to know that there was this solidarity of the artists, and that such altruistic support was given to Thomas Stuart Burnett's widow and family in those difficult times. It is certain that without contributions by his friends and brother artists, Thomas Stuart Burnett's grave would never have been adorned with the red sandstone Celtic cross and its bronze medallion. Today, the Celtic cross is eroding, but it still has a fine bronze profile head of Burnett, sculpted by John Stevenson Rhind, a cousin of William Birnie Rhind - and thus a third cousin of T.S.B. For more information about the cousin William Birnie Rhind, please refer to the section '1887-1888: Monument to the 5th Duke of Buccleuch.'
 | |
| Bronze medallion of the head of Thomas Stuart Burnett, sculpted by John Stevenson Rhind. At the original Dean Cemetery, the red sandstone Celtic cross is eroding, but most of the patterns are still visible. Stephen C Dickson, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. |
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| The sandstone Celtic cross stands above Thomas Stuart Burnett's grave. At the original Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh. Stephen C Dickson, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. |
The base of the Celtic cross has an inscription that reads as follows:
THOMAS STUART BURNETT
A·R·S·A
SCULPTOR
BORN:14:JULY:1853:DIED:3:MARCH:1888
ALSO:HIS:WIFE:MARGARET:IRVING
DIED:13:DECEMBER:1912
ERECTED:BY
HIS:FRIENDS:&:BROTHER:ARTISTS
⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻⁻
AND ALSO THEIR DAUGHTERS
ROSEMARY STUART BURNETT
MARGARET STUART BURNETT
On reading the inscription, we realise that Thomas Stuart Burnett's memorial had not only been financed, but was also erected by, his friends and brother artists. The obituaries often mentioned T.S.B.'s quiet, unobtrusive charm, and the fact that he made friends everywhere he went. For example, in the 'Aberdeen Journal' of Monday the 5th March, 1888, it was noted that 'Mr Burnett was remarkable for his geniality and kindliness of disposition, and his loss will be deeply felt by a large circle of friends.' Another obituary, written by Oliver S. Johnston in 'Art and Literature,' gives us more details, and is fully reproduced in Appendix 2.
While the first and third daughters Rose and Madge were buried with their parents, Thomas Stuart Burnett's second daughter was buried in the Highlands: Anna Winnifred Stuart Burnett, (who later became 'Winnie' Munro), would be laid to rest with her husband, William John Munro, and their children; Dorothy Eleanor Irving Munro and Christobel Catherine Mackenzie Munro, who died in infancy; a son, James Stuart Burnett Munro; and two daughters, Shelagh Winnifred Mary Mackenzie Walkington (née Munro), and Margaret Rosemary Mackenzie (née Munro). Their grave can be found in the Saint Duthus Old Burial Ground of Tain, Ross-Shire, Scotland.
Concluding Observations
Thomas Stuart Burnett had died aged only 34 years, 7 months and 20 days. During his short lifetime, he had never stopped communing with the world, and always industrious, he progressed rapidly in his artistic profession. Although he had begun to obtain prestigious commissions, he seems to have continuously struggled to make ends meet, leaving minimal assets and a widow in dire financial straits. Despite the family misfortune that followed his premature death, Thomas Stuart Burnett's quest for artistic perfection had revealed a great talent, that continues to echo, even today.
William Walkington
(a great-grandson of Thomas Stuart Burnett)
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my gratitude to the following individuals and organisations for their invaluable support in completing this biography of Thomas Weir Stuart Burnett:
Helen Smailes, a Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), Scottish National Gallery, has provided her valuable knowledge of T.S.B.'s work, and has put me in touch with other specialists of the Scottish National Gallery and of the National Museums Scotland. She has also given me very useful information and multiple newspaper cuttings about certain sculptures ('Youth,' 'Florentine Priest,' 'Baby,' International Exhibition of 1886...), and has provided her notes concerning the inventory of T.S.B.'s estate and the posthumous interventions of the R.A.P.F.A.S. What is more, she kindly volunteered research in her free time, as for example, in a quest for catalogues of certain exhibitions that were unavailable on-line, and in a pursuit of press articles, via the microfilmed archives of the Kirkcaldy Local Studies Library.
Dr Patricia Allerston, a Deputy Director & Chief Curator, European & Scottish Art, at the Scottish National Gallery, has kindly sent me very useful general information and photographs concerning the conservation works carried out on 'Baby.'
Dr Joanna Meacock, a Curator of British Art at Glasgow Museums, has kindly provided information about 'Head of an Infant,' and also searched for details about its purchase.
Amy Fairley, Art Officer of the Culture Perth & Kinross Museums & Galleries, has given me very interesting information about 'Rob Roy,' and William Geddes, together with a kind authorisation to use their photographs.
Kirsty Matheson, Art Curator of the McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum, has kindly provided catalogue lists of all of the works that T.S.B. exhibited at the Fine Art Exhibitions of the Albert Institute of Dundee, as well as confirming his current addresses at those events. She has also given some very useful information about ‘Youth with Staghound.’
Margaret Wilson, Picture Librarian / Publishing Administrator of N.M.S. Enterprises Ltd, C/O National Museums Scotland, for her kind attention to a complicated image use request, and for providing the corresponding authorisations.
Alejandro Basterrechea, Image Licensing Assistant of National Galleries Scotland, for his patience in dealing with my rather complicated image use requests and for providing the corresponding authorisations.
Irene Porras, a Content & Data Assistant of the Digital Department of the Scottish National Gallery, has been prompt to answer my question and modify the text 'About this artwork' of 'Friendly Critics.'
Alex McGrory, the Head of External Relations at the High School of Dundee (of which the Rector is Lise Hudson), has kindly searched for information about 'The Bather,' and has found a very interesting photograph of it, taken circa 1896.
Dora Roden of the 'Vintage Lundin Links and Largo blog' has been very helpful with newspaper articles, as well as kindly offering, and providing, practical assistance with the photographs. She also gave me a very useful tip about the book by Sheila MacKay, entitled 'Scottish Victorian Interiors.'
John Lines of the 'Paladyn Blog' has kindly authorised me to use a photograph from the article entitled 'Robert Bryson and Sons of Edinburgh.'
Kathleen Cronie of 'Mostly Ghostly' has kindly authorised me to use their photograph of the bust of Queen Victoria, which is lodged in a niche of the Jubilee Buildings at Dumfries.
Flora Sharp, representing the Press Department of Bonhams, has kindly authorised me to use photographs of Thomas Stuart Burnett's sculptures that have illustrated their auction catalogues.
Sian MacKay, representing Moubray House Press, has kindly authorised me to quote passages about the Cardy House visit, from her book 'Scottish Victorian Interiors,' and has allowed me to use the photograph of the Alexander Selkirk bust.
Last but not least, my siblings, Sandy Walkington, Fiona DeQuidt and Hugh Walkington, have always been very active too, searching for sculptures, taking photographs and looking through their archives!
I extend my gratitude to all, for your invaluable contributions that have significantly enhanced the quality of the biography.
APPENDICES
Appendix 1
POSTHUMOUS EXHIBITIONS
1888: Posthumous Exhibits at the International Exhibition of Glasgow
From May until the end of October 1888, at the International Exhibition of Glasgow, there were two posthumous exhibits of Thomas Stuart Burnett's work.
The first exhibit was the item 1513, which was a 'Bust of Baby,' for sale at £40 0s. During the exhibition, Glasgow Museums purchased the bust (Accession number S.50).
Dr Joanna Meacock, Curator of British Art, at Glasgow Life Museums, kindly did some additional research and found that the ‘List of Donations to Corporation Galleries, for year ending 31st December, 1888’, Kelvingrove Museum and Corporation Galleries of Art, Glasgow, Report for the Year 1888, Robert Anderson, Glasgow, stated on p. 6:
‘Do. [Bust], “Baby” (Marble), by Burnett (£40). Purchased for the Galleries from Glasgow International Exhibition by the Executive Committee.’ For more information, please refer to the section '1885-1887: Anna.'
The second exhibit was the item 1597, 'A Florentine Priest.' For more information, please refer to the section '1881-1882: "Bust of a Florentine Priest."'
1889: Posthumous Exhibit at the 63nd Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy
In the spring of 1889, at the 63rd Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, there was a posthumous exhibit of Thomas Stuart Burnett's work, the item 758, which was a statuette sculpture Robert Burns. For more information, please refer to the section '1887: Robert Burns.'
1889-1890: Posthumous Exhibit at the 13th Fine Art Exhibition of the Albert Institute of Dundee
The following catalogue entries, were kindly supplied by Kirsty Matheson, Art Curator of the McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum:
From
October 1889 onwards (no end date mentioned in the catalogue), at the 13th Fine Art Exhibition of
the Albert Institute of Dundee, there was a posthumous exhibit of Thomas Stuart Burnett's work, the item 1260, ‘Youth with Staghound’ '(presented to the permanent collection by W. Brown Robertson, Esq.).’
For more information, please refer to the section '1884-1888 : "Youth."'
1908: Posthumous Exhibit at the 82nd Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy
In the spring of 1908, at the 82nd Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, there was a posthumous exhibit of Thomas Stuart Burnett's work, the item 213, which was a 'Head of a Young Girl,' lent by the Royal Scottish Academy. This might have been the bust that was subsequently transferred from the Royal Scottish Academy to the National Galleries of Scotland in 1910 (Accession number: NG 1015), and has since re-baptised as 'Baby' : Marble. For more information, please refer to the section '1885-1887: Anna.'
1916: Posthumous Exhibits at the 90th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy
From the 6th May to the 2nd September 1916, at the 90th Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, there were two posthumous exhibits of Thomas Stuart Burnett's work.
The first exhibit was the item 29, A Florentine Priest : Bust in Marble, ('Developed from a study exhibited at the RSA annual exhibition in 1882,' No. 740.), 'lent by the National Gallery of Scotland.' For more information, please refer to the sections '1881: A Study Visit of Paris, Rome and Florence,' '1881-1882: 'Bust of a Florentine Priest,' and '1882: Exhibits at the 56th Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy.'
The second exhibit was the item 41, which was a 'Head of an Infant' : Marble. According to page 60 of 'The Royal Scottish Academy, 1826-1916; a complete list of the exhibited works by Raeburn and by academicians, associates and hon. members, giving details of those works in public galleries,' published in 1917, the item 41 was '(Dated 1885. Same work as 1885, No. 861.), lent by the Corporation of the City of Glasgow' (today the Glasgow Galleries and Museums).
There seems to have been a mix-up here. The marble bust 'Head of an Infant' has clearly been identified as that of Thomas Stuart Burnett's first daughter 'Rose,' and the item 861 exhibited in 1885 was of his second daughter 'Anna.' Thomas Stuart Burnett had previously exhibited an item 851; that was probably a plaster bust of 'Rose,' at the Royal Scottish Academy of 1884. In July 1885, Thomas Stuart Burnett exhibited an item 716, a marble bust 'Little Rose' at the 1st Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists. For more information, please refer to the section '1884-1885: "Rose."'
1926: Posthumous Exhibit at the 100th Centenary Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy
From the 17th April to the 28th August 1926, at the 100th Centenary Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy, there was a posthumous exhibit of Thomas Stuart Burnett's work, the item 52, which was 'Baby,' (owned by William Robertson Esq., 10 Dean Park Street, Edinburgh), and lent by William Robertson. The sculpture material is not mentioned (plaster or marble?) and we presume that it is not the same 'Baby' previously discussed in the sections '1885-1887: "Anna"' and '1908: Posthumous Exhibit at the 82nd Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy.'
1939: Posthumous Exhibit at the Royal Academy of Art: The Exhibition of Scottish Art
From the 6th January to the 11th March 1939, at the Royal Academy of Art: The Exhibition of Scottish Art, which was 'a comprehensive exhibit of Scottish Art in London,' there was a posthumous exhibit of Thomas Stuart Burnett's work, an item 501, which was a marble head of a 'Baby (The Artist's Daughter).' The description by 'Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain & Ireland 1851-1951' states that it was a 'Child's head, turned slightly to left. Modelled in Italy in 1881,' and that it was inscribed 'T. Stuart Burnett Sc., 1882;' this being carved at the back. The sculpture was lent by the National Gallery of Scotland, Royal Scottish Academy Collection; having been presented by the R.S.A. to the N.G.S. in 1910. There are two erroneous dates in the above description, because, unless he had imagined her, Thomas Stuart Burnett could not have modelled his daughter's head while he was in Italy in 1881. His first daughter, Rosemary Stuart Burnett was born after that date, on the 14th May 1883, and his second daughter, Anna Winnifred Stuart Burnett, (the subject of the bust NG1015 of the National Galleries of Scotland), was born on the 17th September, 1884! For more information, please refer to the section '1885-1887: "Anna."'
Appendix 2
Obituary in 'Art and Literature' 1888, vol. I, p 74, by Oliver S. Johnston
THOMAS STUART BURNETT, A.R.S.A.
'THOMAS STUART BURNETT was born at Edinburgh, on 14th July 1853. He received his education at one of Heriot’s schools. In his early years there was no precocious display of talent, significantly pointing to the profession he was eventually to enter, such as we generally read in art biographies. Manifestations of the embryo constructive spirit, however, were not wanting. Residing near the Theatre Royal, he became acquainted with scenic artists and others engaged there, and, as as result of his observations of “behind the scenes arrangements,” used to construct miniature theatres with pasteboard, introducing all the movable stage contrivances, with much ingenuity.
Young Burnett, like many other boys, was very eager to leave school and “begin working.” This being his bent, he was fortunate in being admitted, through the influence of a relative, into the studio of William Brodie, R.S.A., sculptor. Happy chance of circumstance! He went there to serve an apprenticeship, he would have gone to anything else that had turned up; and so our future sculptor was set upon the right road, and artistic talents, that might have been lost to us for ever, were thus rescued by being directed into their proper channel. There now loomed up a definite goal to strive for, and his best energies were zealously put forth to reach it. He attended the School of Design regularly in the evenings, besides diligently practising modelling at home. In 1875 a national gold medal was awarded to him, by the Science and Art Department, for the best modelled study from the “antique.” In the following year he obtained another prize for a modelled study of an "original figure." Mr. Hodder, master of the school, says he was the type of student of immense value in a class, acting as a healthy stimulant to others by the zeal and ability that characterised his progress throughout. He was a student at the evening classes there for nearly nine years. Entering the Royal Scottish Academy Life-school, about the end of 1875, he studied there for five years, gaining the Stuart Prize, in 1880, for his original group, “Eugene Aram”:
“And down he sat beside the lad,
And talked with him of Cain.”
Burnett continued in Brodie’s studio until 1878, with the exception of a break of some six months soon after his apprenticeship expired, when he went to London; but not securing any permanent footing there, he returned to Edinburgh. In that year he embarked as a sculptor on his own account.
As he moves forward to work out his career in his own way, we may here ask what kind of natural and artificial equipment he had. Constitutionally, one would say, he was by no means a man of rapid thought or quick energy, but, on the contrary, of a rather slow habit of mind and body. He had, however, great patience and perseverance, which went far to balance, and indeed, – as in work requiring fullness, rather than suggestiveness, of expression, – to outweigh, the quicker gifts. His extreme modesty, undoubtedly handicapped him in the race for early recognition; but this very quality, added to his quiet humour and inherent sincerity of character, made his intimate friends stick to him closer than brothers. Of his professional acquirements, educationally speaking, perhaps the less said the better – it would simply mean pointing out the beggarly condition of the teaching in the Scottish School of Sculpture then, as now.
The young sculptor had already been sending works to the Royal Scottish Academy exhibitions for a number of years. His first exhibit appeared in 1870; and from that year forward, until his death, he was a regular contributor. Not until 1880 do we come to anything calling for special notice. In that year appeared “The Innocent,” a very charming study of the head of a beautiful little girl, the playful smile on the face being happily rendered.
In 1881 he was introduced to Mr. A.D. Grimmond [sic], of Dundee, who, seeing the prize group, "Eugene Aram," in his studio, was so pleased with it that he commissioned him to reproduce it in marble, besides giving him a commission for a portrait bust of himself. This was his first commission of any importance.
In the autumn of 1881, Burnett visited Paris and Florence, and was greatly invigorated by his short communion with the master-pieces of sculpture and painting in these cities. He was quite enamoured with the chefs-d’oeuvre of French sculpture in the Luxembourg, and did not hesitate to declare the heretical opinion, that they surpassed in art-value the productions of ancient Greece and Italy. This opinion was, doubtless, prompted by the ecstasy of first love.
At Florence he modelled his “Head of a Florentine Priest,” a work full of character, and noticeable for its splendid vivacity of technique – a technique which it would have been impossible for him to have acquired in Scotland. The peculiar raciness of touch by which the surface textures are described, the thorough realism in the treatment of, for instance, the flesh-folds underneath the chin, being totally distinct from the clumsy generalisations which stand for the natural truth in the Scottish school. We may suppose that contact with the modern Italian sculpture, and its ideals, had a lasting influence upon his method of handling.
In 1882, along with his “Florentine Priest,” he exhibited, at the Academy, his “Bather.” It represents a boy of about fourteen years of age seated on a rock drying himself after bathing. The composition of lines is charmingly suggestive of the spontaneous and unconscious grace of young boyhood; the modelling shows not only a conscientious study of the actual model, but the presence of an affectionate eye and a sympathetic spirit, bent upon interpreting those special qualities of surface and gesture which make for the idea of boyishness. These works at once established his position as a rising light in his profession.
Commissions were given in that year to various sculptors for statuettes to be placed in vacant niches of the Scott monument in Edinburgh, and of these our sculptor produced three: “Davie Deans,” “Effie Deans,” and the “White Lady of Avenel.” At the Architectural Exhibition, held in December, 1882, Mr. Aird, M.P. for North Paddington, saw, and greatly admired, his conception of the stern old Presbyterian, “Davie Deans.” The result was a commission to reproduce it in marble. After its completion, Mr. Aird commissioned him to execute the now well-known statue of “Rob Roy.” The original model was presented by Mr. Aird to the Royal Scottish Academy, and it is now to be seen in the Museum of Science and Art. In regard to “Rob Roy,” of which the accompanying illustration gives one position, we always felt that, from the fact of its being his first important commission, Burnett overlaboured his idea. It is, of course, somewhat in the nature of a portrait, and as a realisation of the intellectual, as well as the physically powerful, Highland cateran, “Rob Roy” is a decided success; as a work of art, however, it suffers from over-carefulness. The search for historical facts, and the desire to accumulate all the known details of costume in one single presentment, have in some degree obliterated the structural truths of form which underlie these, and which only impress themselves by slow degrees on the spectator.
In Mr. Aird, Burnett found a generous patron and a true friend. His ever-lively interest in Burnett and his work, must have greatly stimulated the latter to strive more strenuously to attain perfection in his art, and prove himself worthier of such uncommon attention. The following sentences from a letter to a gentleman in Edinburgh, some time after Burnett’s death, gives us this patron’s estimate of him: – “It was a great loss to the art-world, the death of Stuart Burnett, and he was mourned for by all who knew him. . . . . There was a quiet, unobtrusive charm about Burnett that made for him friends wherever he went, and they always remained his friends. I personally felt his loss as I should have felt that of a near relation. . . . . As to his power as a sculptor, I always thought Stuart Burnett deserved to be in the first rank; the vigour of his work was always associated with calm repose, and this combination makes sculpture so beautiful to live with.”
In 1884, besides other minor works, appeared his noblest ideal composition, “Youth.” This is one of those works which yield fresh pleasure, and fresh inspiration, by repeated study. For Burnett here gives us youth the hunter, youth the athlete, – the young man rejoicing in his strength, – not youth the aspirant, the dreamer. The limbs are muscular, lithe, and supple, not with one ounce of superfluous flesh about them; with these the arms, to the long, nervous fingers are in strict sympathy; while the beautiful, almost classic, head, poised so lightly on the sinewy neck, makes a just finish to an uncommonly fine work. Would that we had more such!
About this time his bronze statue of “Robinson Crusoe” was completed. The famous hero is presented with all the picturesque accessories, so well known to every school-boy. The firm-set figure is happily posed, the hand shading the eyes against the strong southern sun, as Crusoe looks out o’er the dazzling ocean for the long-sought-for ship. It now appropriately adorns the mariner’s birthplace at Largo.
In 1886, having secured the commission for the public statue erected in Aberdeen by the Clan Gordon to perpetuate the memory of General Gordon, Burnett threw his best energies into the work of recreating in enduring form the image of that great Christian soldier. In this effort, the first of its kind – and, to our sorrow, the last – attempted by him, everyone agrees that he achieved a decided success.
These, then, are his principal works. We have omitted noticing his minor works, and the array of busts executed year by year, and which form the purse-fillers for sculptors in our highly-cultured metropolis. But how miserable was the support accorded to him! “The Innocent,” “The Bather,” and “Youth,” not to mention others, were not sold till after his death. There is no need for wordy vituperation; this fact speaks for itself. He was loath to leave Scotland, but commissions awaited him in London, and as he was getting practically nothing to do in Edinburgh, he prepared to go South. But it was willed otherwise. Seized with an illness, which developed into congestion of the lungs, he passed away on the 3rd of March, 1888, at the early age of thirty-five.
In considering the achievements of Burnett as a sculptor, one must bear in mind that he died just at his budding-time, for his nature was one which ripened slowly. Mr. G. W. Johnstone, A.R.S.A., his personal friend, has told us that it was Burnett’s ambition to produce a “Venus,” embodying his own ideal of the perfect woman. We do not think that his successes would have lain that way, nor, indeed, in any direction involving a lofty perception of beauty in the abstract. There were two main obstacles to this: his extremely limited general culture, coupled with the art-barrenness of his early environment; and his great affection for simple nature as he saw it. This latter instinct gave him great pleasure, and consequent power, in reproducing the surface flesh in infancy, youth, and old age. After portrait-busts and portrait-statues, in which he would always have excelled (coming to them with a freshness of interest that a mind more inclined to the abstract could not have), he would probably have created works of simple motive, dealing with one or two figures. But these motives he would have elaborated with an intimate knowledge of nature, an ample technique, and above all, in a sincere and loving spirit, which would have raised them to a high level of art.
We can scarcely close this notice without remarking the deplorable condition of the art of sculpture in Scotland. Not only is there general apathy, and neglect of the subject, but there exists almost no desire to rise from the state of the mere commercial grub to the higher and more beautiful state of a cultured spirituality.
On all sides we have hard-working men hoarding up money to permit of their sons and daughters living in idleness; how much lovelier and better would they make the world, and how much happier their children, not to speak of the satisfaction to themselves, could they see their way to search out some Burnett, and give him help to live and heart to work.
May the loss of many of her most talented sons (as she would have lost Burnett, had he lived), through her neglect and callous indifference, teach Scotland to mend her ways, and exchange her dross of gold for pearls of a greater price.'
OLIVER S. JOHNSTON
Appendix 3
Thomas Stuart Burnett: Inventory of Executry Estate
The transcript of the inventory was kindly supplied by Helen Smailes, Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), Scottish National Gallery. It was sourced via the ScotlandsPeopleCentre, Edinburgh, as being digitised and accessible online. The original documents are held by the National Records of Scotland.
Inventory of his estate (Edinburgh Sheriff Court SC70/1/265, lodged 10 April 1888)
Pp.255-262 Presented by A R Cartwright Wood WS.
[A.B. Cartwright Wood, W.S., was a Writer to the Signet at 75 Princes Street, Edinburgh.]
1. Cash in the House £2
2.
Household Furniture silver plate and other effects in the deceased's
house 7 Melgund Terrace Edinburgh, conform to appraisement by Alexander
Dowell, Licensed Appraiser, Edinburgh. 67 11
3. Stock in
Trade and other Effects belonging to the deceased in his studio number
two Annandale Street, Edinburgh, conform to appraisement by Alexander
Dowell, Licensed Appraiser, Edinburgh 30 6
4. Sum in Policy of Assurance Co No of 28846 300
5.
Sum in Policy of Assurance on the life of the deceased effected with
the Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance Company No 41925 100
6. Debt due to the deceased. Committee for erection of Statue of General Gordon at Aberdeen £200.00
Mrs Reid Gilsland Road 10 00 210
Gross amount of Personal Estate in the United Kingdom £709.4.6
Schedule of Debts due and owing from the deceased at the time of his death to persons resident in the United Kingdom.
Debts
Bank of Scotland £652
Adam Walker, Bronze Moulder [Sir John Steell's foreman bronze founder] 270 - -
D McDonald Wine Merchant 14.10.1
Wm Cockburn, Coach Hirer - 11.6
Wm Fraser, Sculptor 1 18 1
M Herbert Coat Merchant 15 6
James Simpson, Brushmaker 3 - -
Royal Scottish Nursing Institution 16
Dr Black 7 18 6
Dr Affleck 11 - -
Wm Anderson & Sons, Tailors 18 18 -
Currie & Co, Cement Merchants 1 - 1 -
Alexander Asher, Photographer 418
W B Aitcheson, Jeweller 3 - -
Andrew Jameson, Newsagents - 11 5
James Macintosh, Sculptor, St Andrews 2 18 7
D Morelli, 11 Greenside Place 2 7 8
James Anderson, Plumber 1 3 11
Doig & McKechnie, Printseller 19 2 2
James Irving, Bootmaker 15 - - [T.S.B.'s father-in-law]
Do. On loan unsecured 120 - -
Edinburgh & Leith Gas Co 2 - -
John Harper, Blacksmith - 72
£498.12.10
Funeral Expenses
Edinburgh Funeral Co 22.4.6
£520.17.4
Abstract
Testament of Personal Estate as per foregoing Inventory £709.4.6
Amount of Debt and Funeral Expenses as per schedule 520.17.4
£188.17.2
(signed) Margaret Stuart Burnett
W J Kinloch Anderson JP
'At
Edinburgh the second day of April eighteen hundred and eighty eight. In
presence of William J Kinloch Anderson, Esquire, one of Her Majesty's
Justices of the Peace for the County of the City of Edinburgh. Appeared
Mrs Margaret lrving or Stuart Burnett sometime residing at number seven
Melgund Terrace Edinburgh and presently residing at number seventeen
Lutton Place, Edinburgh, Executrix dative qua relict of the deceased
Thomas Stuart Burnett, sculptor, Associate of the Royal Scottish
Academy, who being solemnly sworn and examined depones That the said
Thomas Stuart Burnett died at Edinburgh domiciled in Scotland on the
third day of March eighteen hundred and eighty eight survived by a Widow
and lawful issue. That the deponent has entered upon the possession and
management of the deceased's estate as Executrix dative qua relict
conform to the decree in her favour by the Sheriff of the Lothians and
Peebles at Edinburgh dated the twenty third day of March eighteen
hundred and eighty eight. That the deponent does not know of any
testamentary settlement or Writing relative to the disposal of the
deceased's personal estate or effects, or any part thereof. That the
foregoing Inventory signed by the deponent and the said Justice of the
Peace as relative hereto is a full and complete Inventory of the
personal estate and effects situated in Scotland including the proceeds
accrued thereon down to this date and after deducting the amount of the
said debts and funeral expenses is one hundred and eighty eight pounds
and does not exceed Two hundred pounds sterling.'
Appendix 4
The Royal Association For The Promotion of The Fine Arts in Scotland (R.A.P.F.A.S.)
Actions of the R.A.P.F.A.S. Committee Concerning the Works of Thomas Stuart Burnett
T.S. Burnett, A Florentine Priest.
The
Report by the Committee of Management of the Royal Association for
Promotion of the Fine Arts in Scotland for the year 1881-1882 described the organisation of a prize lottery to finance future acquisitions:
'From the late Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy the Committee have selected, for distribution among the members, at a cost of £1001, 10s, thirty-two works of art, consisting of twenty-two paintings, nine water-colour drawings, and one bust in marble. The following are the names of the Artists from whom the works selected for distribution to-day have been purchased:-'
The distribution of the Prize Works of Art took place in the Freemasons Hall, 24 St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, on the 5th August 1882. Amongst the sixty-five works of Art for distribution there was:
'1063. Bust--Study of a Florentine Priest, by T. Stuart Burnett, £75--C. McLean , Castlemaine, Victoria.'
The Report by the Committee of Management of the Royal Association for Promotion of the Fine Arts in Scotland for the year 1887-1888 stated that:
'Scottish Art has this year also to deplore the loss of one of her most talented and promising sculptors, Mr. Thomas Stuart Burnett, A.R.S.A. Three years ago [sic - the purchase took place about 1881 or 1882] the Committee purchased for the Subscribers one of Mr. Burnett's most ably executed busts, "a Florentine Priest..."
RAPFAS Minute Book 1884-97 (National Records of Scotland) NG 4/1/3)
The transcript was kindly supplied by Helen Smailes, Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), Scottish National Gallery, who
pointed out that Arthur Sanderson, distiller, was a prominent collector
and serving member of the Association’s management committee when he
stepped in to buy the bust back from the Australian subscriber.
P 85 10 March 1889
Letter
from Arthur Sanderson, a member of the RAPFAS committee of management
in the 1880s, to the RAPFAS secretary. He stated that TS Bumett's widow
"is very poorly left" and proposed to help her by having her husband's
work represented in the National Gallery of Scotland. Sanderson then
owned "A Florentine Priest". This had been bought by RAPFAS in 1881/2
for £75 and drawn as a prize by an Australian subscriber. But the winner
failed to appreciate it and asked RAPFAS to buy it back (which they
could not do). Sanderson had then stepped in and bought it for £35-40.
He now suggested presenting Mrs Burnett with the bust on condition that
RAPFAS buy it form her at half the original cost (estimated at £37.10-)
and gift it to the Gallery.
P 86
This proposal was agreed. The bust was to be submitted to the Board of Manufactures for approval as a Gallery acquisition.
P 87 6 May 1889
The Board's formal approval was intimated to RAPFAS.
Rapfas Minute Book (National Records of Scotland NG 4/1/3)
The transcript was kindly supplied by Helen Smailes, Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), Scottish National Gallery.
29 March 1889.
The Rapfas Committee discussed a letter from Arthur Sanderson of 5 Carlton
Edinburgh 10 March 1889, as follows: 'The friends of the late Stuart
Burnett ARSA are very desirous of giving some assistance to his widow
who is very poorly left, and also of having him represented in our
National Gallery, by some characteristic piece of his Work.
... As
you are aware I possess Burnett's Bust in Marble "Head of A. Florentine
Priest". It was bought by the Association about 1881 or 1882 for £75 was
drawn as a prize for Australia, but the winner not seeing its value,
asked the Association to buy it back. Of course the Association count
not entertain such a proposal, but at your suggestion I agreed to
purchase it, and with expenses I think it cost me something between £35
and £40 but you will be able to obtain the exact sum from your books.
My
proposal is to present Mrs. Burnett with this Bust, on condition that
the Association will buy it from her, say at half its original cost
£37.10/- and present it to the National Gallery...'
6 May 1889.
The Secretary reported receiving a letter from the Board of
Manufactures accepting this sculpture for the National Gallery of
Scotland.
T.S. Burnett, A Promising Youth.
The Report by the Committee of Management of the Royal Association for
Promotion of the Fine Arts in Scotland for the year 1887-1888 stated that:
'...this year their attention was specially directed to Mr. Burnett's
model for a bust in the recent exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy
titled "A Promising Youth," but his death in the beginning of March
delayed the purchase, as the Sculptor's hand could no longer reproduce
the work in marble. Your Committee, however, have under consideration a
proposal to reproduce the bust in bronze with a view to its presentation
to the Scottish National Gallery as a memorial of the talented young
artist.'
Rapfas minute book (National Records of Scotland NG 4/1/3)
The transcript was kindly supplied by Helen Smailes, Senior Curator of British Art (Paintings and Sculpture), Scottish National Gallery.
28 May 1888 ...
"A
proposal having been made that the late Mr. Stuart Burnett's Bust "A
Promising Youth" in the last Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy
should be reproduced in bronze with a view to its presentation to the
Scottish National Gallery as a Memorial of the Artist, the same
sub-committee ... were requested to examine the Bust and report whether
in their opinion the proposal should be entertained."
16 July 1888 ...
"Concerning
the proposal for a bronze cast of Burnett's Bust, the cost of the
bronze was estimated at 50 guineas. The Board of Manufactures was to be
approached concerning its possible acceptance for the National Gallery
of Scotland."
7 February 1889. The Board of Manufactures declined the offer of Burnett's Bust.
Appendix 5
Miscellaneous Photographs
 |
| Sir John Aird A friend and patron of the Scottish sculptor, Thomas Stuart Burnett. Photograph 24.8 x 20 cm, by Lambert Weston of Folkestone, n.d. Photograph Private Collection (W). |
 |
| Mary Irving (née Thwaite) Mary Irving (née Thwaite) was the mother of Margaret Stuart Burnett. Photograph by P.F. Patrick of Edinburgh, date unknown, circa 1880's. This photograph comes from the family archives. |
 |
| Margaret Stuart Burnett with one of her daughters Margaret Stuart Burnett with either Rose, Anna or Madge, circa 1883. This photograph comes from the family archives. |
 |
| Anna, Madge and Rose Stuart Burnett with an unidentified infant (a niece?), circa 1900. Photograph 16.8 x 11.2 cm., by Cabinet Ramsay of Bridge of Allan, c.1900. Photograph Private Collection (F). |
 |
| Margaret Stuart Burnett Photograph 14.8 x 10.5 cm, by Jas C.H. Balmain of Edinburgh, c. 1910. Photograph Private Collection (W). |
Appendix 6a
Extract of an unidentified newspaper cutting of 1879 (The Scotsman?)
INAUGURATION OF THE MURRAY MEMORIAL MONUMENT AT TAIN
(From our own Correspondent)
'Yesterday the monument erected to the late Kenneth Murray of Geanies, Provost of Tain, was inaugurated at Tain in presence of a large number of spectators. Mr Murray was such a universal favourite, and so highly esteemed, not only in Ross-shire but all over the north of Scotland, that it was expected, on his death in 1876, the feeling in all quarters should be that some memorial of his worth and public usefulness should be erected. A committee was formed, and from all parts of the country, and from all classes of the community, subscriptions came voluntarily and rapidly in to the extent of over £1600. The committee decided that £800 of that sum at least should be set apart for the founding of a bursary in connection with the Tain Royal Academy, and that the balance should be expended in a monumental erection in the town of Tain, with which he had been so intimately connected all his life by social, business, municipal ties. Estimates were advertised for, and no fewer than thirty-six designs from architects in all parts of the kingdom were received. Almost every one of these did credit to the authors, but the committee had no difficulty in making choice of the design sent in by Mr Laurence Beveridge, sculptor, Edinburgh, as the best, and all those who have seen it in its completed state approve highly of the choice, for, north of Edinburgh, there is no more beautiful erection of the kind. Various sites were spoken of, but the one chosen is certainly the best in town. It is in part of the garden of the Commercial Bank (of which Mr Murray was so long agent), almost in the centre of the town, and can be seen from almost all directions, a pretty view being got of it from the railway station and line.
The monument is built of a rich, brown-tinted freestone from Fairloans Quarry, near Harwick, a stone that takes a fine surface and wears well. The design is in the decorated Gothic style. Sunk as the base is in a hollow, is was necessary before the real building could be started to build a basement 13 feet in height to bring it to the level of the street. This basement is of massive rustic masonry, terminating at the street level with a moulded belt course. Above this belt the base proper begins, and rises to a height of 6 feet, the upper portion forming the spring for the piers. The latter are supported by buttresses, and have columns with moulded bases and carved capitals in the internal angles. The abacus moulding of the capitals is also carried round the piers. From these spring the main arches forming a groined roof. The arches are elaborately moulded, and have richly-carved trefoil panels. They are surmounted by moulded pediments having carved crockets and bosses, and finished at the apex with carved finials. This portion gives the whole structure a pleasing look of lightness, and contrasts agreeably with the massive base on which it rests. Above the arches the monument becomes octagonal, the space at the angles above the piers being filled by moulded and finely-carved pinnacles. On each of the eight angles of this base rests a column having a moulded base and a richly-carved capital. The columns are surmounted by trefoil arches and pediments supporting the spire. The latter has carved crockets at its angles, and terminates with a bold, handsomely-carved finial. The height of the monument from the street level is 44 feet, and from the lower basement level 57 feet. Above the base, in the centre of the open space between the piers, stands a pedestal 3 feet in height supporting a marble bust of the deceased, which was modelled and executed by Mr. T. S. Burnett, sculptor, Edinburgh, from photographs, and is a striking likeness and an excellent work of art. On the pedestal is the following inscription: – “Kenneth Murray of Geanies, Provost of Tain, born 1825, died 1876. This monument has been erected and a university bursary founded in connection with the Tain Academy by public subscription as a memorial of his estimable character and public usefulness. 1879”…
… Mrs Vass (the wife of Provost Vass) then pulled the cord which held the covering that enveloped the bust, and the memorial was exposed to the view of the crowd, who greeted it with loud cheers. Provost Vass thereafter handed the title of the site to Bailie Wallace, who expressed the pleasure the Town Council had in accepting the care of such a splendid building. Colonel Ross moved a vote of thanks to the chairman and committee for their labours, which Captain Rose acknowledged on behalf of the committee. Mr Monro of Allan proposed a vote of thanks to Mrs Vass for her services on the occasion. Sheriff Hill, in proposing a vote of thanks to Messrs Burnett and Beveridge, the architect and sculptor of the monument and bust, referred to the satisfactory result of their labours in the beautiful building which was inaugurated. The proceedings terminated by the Rev. M Lachlan, Tain, pronouncing the benediction.'
Appendix 6b
Extract of a newspaper cutting from The Inverness Courier, 1879
INAUGURATION OF THE MURRAY MEMORIAL AT TAIN
'… (Mrs Vass having unveiled the bust amidst loud and prolonged cheering), the Provost said – The bust, in which I trust you will see both a most striking likeness to the original and an admirable work of art, is the work of a very rising young artist in Edinburgh, Mr Burnett, who is a gold medallist of the Society of Arts. He had for his guidance in the preparation of his model only two or three photographs and the criticism of intimate friends of Mr Murray on it. I took the opportunity of paying Mr Burnett several visits for that purpose, and found him an exceedingly modest, intelligent, and gentlemanly man…'
Other Information or a Missing Sculpture?
Although every attempt has been made to be accurate, conflicting sources of information can sometimes lead to errors. Perhaps you will have useful information that will complete the biography of Thomas Stuart Burnett, in which case I would very much like to hear from you.
Also, as Thomas Stuart Burnett produced a great variety of sculptures during his lifetime, the examples shown above can only represent a small part of these. Should you possess one or more of his sculptures, that you cannot find here, but you think should be on this page, please do not hesitate to contact me at william.walkington@wanadoo.fr. In the eventuality that you become the contributor of a photograph of a previously undocumented sculpture, I can assure you that you will remain anonymous, unless you prefer otherwise.
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But should you wish to make enquiries about an eventual acquisition, or if you prefer to send a private message about any subject, please email me at the following address: william.walkington@wanadoo.fr