The earliest major portrait of someone in full-length Highland dress has been secured for the public.
A Highland Chieftain: Portrait of Lord Mungo Murray by artist John Michael Wright around 1683 has been bought by Glasgow Museums.
The piece is regarded as being important for the culture of Gaelic Scotland, showing 15-year-old Mungo Murray wearing a doublet and belted plaid in tartan that pre-dates the invention of kilts and clan colours.
READ MORE: Alasdair Gray exhibition 'Omnium Gatherum' set for Glasgow Printworks
David McDonald, depute leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “Our successful acquisition of this hugely significant painting for Scottish culture and national identity ensures it remains accessible to the public who have come to love and identify with the work.
“Visitors can learn more about the painting and the artist through a programme of events and activities that will accompany its display in Kelvingrove.
“The portrait supports Glasgow Museums’ Scottish history, dress and textile and military collections, providing invaluable information for cultural historians interested in our national heritage, Gaelic culture and Highland identity.”
READ MORE: What it feels like ... to be a curator for GoMA
The large-scale work presents Lord Murray (1668-1700) as a Highlander warrior, standing in a mountainous landscape with his servant in the background carrying his master’s longbow and fur-decorated targe.
The purchase was made with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund, Friends of Glasgow Museums and the National Fund for Acquisitions.
It has been put on display in the Scottish Identity in Art gallery at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here