Lawrence Macdonald

Mary Caroline Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Dowager Duchess of Sutherland (1848-1912), Carbisdale Castle, Scottish Highlands, circa 1906;
Colonel Theodore Salvesen (1863-1942), Carbisdale Castle, Scottish Highlands, 1933;
by family descent to Captain Harold Keith Salvesen (1897-1970), Carbisdale Castle, Scottish Highlands, 1942;
gifted to the Scottish Youth Hostels Association, 1945

I. Roscoe, E. Hardy and M.G. Sullivan, A Biographical Dictionary of Sculptors in Britain 1660-1851, New Haven and London, 2009, p. 778

Overall the condition of the marble is good with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There are some small naturally occurring inclusions, notably to the face, to the chest, and to the shoulders (some of the inclusions are filled). There is veining to the marble consistent with the material, notably to the abdomen, thighs and backs of the legs. Some of the veins are slightly orange in colour. There are some scratches and abrasions to the lower legs. There are some chips and abrasions to the edges and the sides of the base. There is a particularly prominent vein running across the proper left foot and through the urn, and another running through the drapery at the back. There are some larger inclusions in the drapery. There is some orange dirt residue between the buttocks. There is minor dirt and wear to the wood base; joints are visible. There is stable splitting to the wood and a few losses, including to one of the corners at the top.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This elegant figure of Venus is typical of the gentle classicism of the Scottish Neoclassical sculptor Lawrence Macdonald. The composition of the Venus is derived from the celebrated Tauride Venus of Greek antiquity, known from a 2nd-century AD Roman Imperial copy in the Hermitage, St Petersburg (inv. no. S10.10). Note the same contrapposto pose, the head inclined to the sinister, and the urn with folds of drapery. The model was first exhibited by MacDonald at the Royal Academy in 1854. Another version, dated 1856, was acquired by the 4th Marquess of Londonderry and is at Mount Stewart in Northern Ireland (inv. no. 1221033.1).

Lawrence MacDonald was one of the leading Scottish sculptors of the 19th century, and one of the last skilled practitioners of the Neoclassical style in Rome. Born at Bonnyview, Fino-Gask, Perthshire, he studied at the Trustees' Academy in Edinburgh, before travelling to Rome, where he became one of the earliest members of the British Academy of Arts. Returning to Edinburgh in 1826, he went on to sculpt likenesses of the leading lights of the city's scientific and literary establishment. After a successful exhibition in London in 1831, he was lauded by the Literary Gazette as promising 'to be - or, rather, he already is - one of the most distinguished ornaments of the British school of sculpture' (quoted in Roscoe. op. cit., p. 776). MacDonald returned to Rome in 1832, remaining in the Eternal city for the rest of his career, where he became the favoured portrait sculptor of visiting Grand Tourists, and, later, members of the American elite. In 1850 he executed his most celebrated portrait, the statue of Emily, Countess of Winchelsea and Nottingham (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, inv. no. A.188-1969). The sculptor's popularity is given testament by P. R. Drummond's witty description of MacDonald, 'bedizened with gems, the gifts of his admirers' (quoted in Roscoe, op. cit., p. 776). In 1867, MacDonald was made an honorary member of the Royal Scottish Academy. Whilst ideal works such as the present Venus are relatively rare in MacDonald's oeuvre, given his popularity as a portraitist, his serene Neoclassicism lends itself perfectly to the genre. During his lifetime, sculptures by him could be found in the homes of leading members of Britain's aristocracy, including those of the Dukes of Northumberland and the Earls of Aberdeen. He is particularly celebrated for 'the careful execution, idealised form and high finish of [his] works, which are characteristic of the late neoclassical movement and reflect a move from severity to 'measured elegance'' (Roscoe, op. cit., p. 777).

RELATED LITERATURE
F. Pearson (ed.), Virtue and Vision: Sculpture and Scotland 1540-1990, Royal Scottish Academy, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1991; D. Bilbey and M. Trusted, British Sculpture 1470 to 2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2002, pp. 329-330

Carbisdale Castle: A History

Carbisdale Castle is a magnificent Scots Baronial residence situated in the heart of the Highlands, overlooking the beautiful Kyle of Sutherland. Constructed between 1906 and 1917, it was the last Castle to be built in Scotland. Its history is one of intrigue, scandal, war and peace, at the centre of which lies the formidable figure of its first resident, Mary Caroline, Dowager Duchess of Sutherland (1848-1912), the Duchess Blair. Married three times, her first husband, Captain Arthur Kindersley Blair of the 71^st Highland Light Infantry Regiment, died mysteriously in a hunting accident in 1883. In the months leading up to her husband’s death, Mary Caroline had embarked on a love affair with the 3^rd Duke of Sutherland. Rumour swirled around the untimely death and, according to one writer ‘the Duke was whispered to have been responsible’. When his first wife died in 1889 there was no bar to the Duke wedding his long term mistress. The two caused a major scandal by marrying only four months after the Duchess’ passing. Mary Caroline was branded the  ‘Duchess Blair’ by the Victorian public, the implication being that she was a social climber.

The tale of the Duchess Blair took a further twist with the death of the Duke, since his will left her the majority of the Sutherland inheritance. His natural heirs were incensed, contesting this legacy. During the course of legal proceedings it emerged that the Dowager had destroyed documents, and she was sentenced to six weeks imprisonment. An agreement was eventually reached providing the Dowager with a substantial financial settlement, including the stipulation that the family construct a residence befitting her station. The result, Carbisdale Castle, was built to her exacting standards, and, over a period of time, was gradually furnished with the magnificent collection of statuary and painting being offered in this sale. The Dowager nevertheless remained embittered by her lost inheritance and she constructed the Castle around a tower with clocks on only three sides. The wall without a clock faced Sutherland lands, illustrating the Duchess’ claim that she would not give the family the time of day.

The Castle and its collection were generously donated to its current custodians, the Scottish Youth Hostels Association (SYHA), by Captain Harold Salvesen in 1945, who had inherited it from his father, Colonel Theodore Salvesen. Scots of Norwegian descent, during the Second World War the family gave refuge to King Haakon VII of Norway at Carbisdale. It was here, in 1941, that the Norwegian King signed an agreement with the Soviet Union that Russian troops would vacate Norway after they had liberated the country from Nazi forces. From 1945 to 2010 this historic Castle, complete with a tumultuous history and said to be haunted, operated as a popular youth hostel, under the care of SYHA.

The Collection comprises an extraordinary narrative sweep which charts the development of European sculpture in the 19^th century, from the elegant Neoclassicism of the early part of the century – exemplified by works such as the Venus Italica after Antonio Canova – to the fantastical Romanticism of the Belle Époque years – seen in marbles such as Pasquale Romanelli’s Andromeda and the Sea Monster. Appropriately, two of the most beautiful sculptures are the Venus by Lawrence Macdonald and the Nymph at the Stream by David Watson Stevenson, two leading Scottish sculptors. Wider British sculpture is represented by Henry Weekes’ The Young Naturalist with its girl with billowing hair and its rocky base with intricately carved seaweeds. Carbisdale is the quintessential Victorian collection, a point underlined by the presence of two charming satyr’s by Emil Wolff, one of Queen Victoria’s favourite artists. The wonderful array of pictures, most of which are quality 19^th-century copies of Old Masters or original British landscapes, hints at the Duchess Blair’s desire to recreate the splendour that she had lost with the death of her husband, whose own Bridgewater Collection, was one of the greatest in Europe.