The Last of the Clan

Image credit: Glasgow Life Museums

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Notes

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'When the steamer had slowly backed out, and John MacAlpine had thrown off the hawser [rope], we began to feel that our once powerful clan was now represented by a feeble old man and his granddaughter, who, together with some outlying kith-and-kin, myself among the number, owned not a single blade of grass in the glen that was once all our own.' Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1865, this painting was accompanied in the catalogue by this paragraph which was probably written by the artist himself. Such emigrant scenes were common occurrences in mid 19th-century Scotland when, partly as a result of the Highland Clearances, the land could no longer support the people. Emigration, often forced, to places such as America and Canada, was the only hope of survival.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Title

The Last of the Clan

Date

1865

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 144.8 x W 182.9 cm

Accession number

3366

Acquisition method

purchased with the assistance of the Heritage Fund for Scotland, the National Art Collections Fund, The Pilgrim Trust Glasgow Print Studio and public subscription, 1980

Work type

Painting

Inscription description

signed/dated

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Normally on display at

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Argyle Street, Glasgow G3 8AG Scotland

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