詹姆斯·德拉蒙德 R.S.A.

Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 8 June 2006, lot 277 (as English School, Mid-19th Century);
There acquired.

New York, The Met Breuer, Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible, 18 March - 4 September 2016.

A. Bayer, Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible, exhibition catalogue, New York 2016, p. 286, reproduced plate 118;
C. Swanson, “Inside the New Met Breuer’s Housewarming Show,” 2 March 2016, www.vulture.com.

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This work is painted on a heavy panel. There is an original addition of about 1 ½ inches across the bottom edge, and another similar addition across the top edge. Both of these additions show movement along the join, which could be corrected. There is some raised cracking and slight instability to the paint layer above the addition on the bottom edge, particularly in the lower left. There are a few dents in the panel, some of them around the heads of the figures on the left side, and one in the light brown cloak of the female on the left side. There is a visible crack in the panel running from the center of the right side toward the lower left corner. The figures are all in good condition. The areas that are unpainted but drawn are in similarly good condition. The background shows some retouches and unevenness. The condition is good overall, despite the panel requiring some attention to its original joins.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Born in Edinburgh, James Drummond is best-known for his paintings of Scottish history and folklore, and was also an early photographer, historian, and curator of the National Gallery of Scotland from 1868 to 1877.  The present work is directly related to the canvas The Return of Mary Queen of Scots to Edinburgh (fig. 1, National Galleries of Scotland) shown at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1870. While the title of this work suggests that the subject is Mary’s return to Edinburgh from defeat at Carberry Hill, Drummond has portrayed her departure from Edinburgh on June 17, 1567 for the island fortress of Lochleven Castle where she would abdicate the Scottish throne on July 24th in favor of her one-year-old son James. Mary was incarcerated in Lochleven Castle on the charge of having her second husband, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, murdered, and her innocence or guilt was fiercely debated in nineteenth century literature. The Scottish Reformation was a constant source of inspiration and fascination for the era’s writers and artists. Drummond returned many times to tumultuous passages of Mary’s life, in works such as Queen Mary’s Last Look at Scotland (fig. 2, 1865), as did his contemporaries Ford Madox Brown, William Powell Frith and Sir David Wilkie.  

In its unfinished state, the present work provides a fascinating window into Drummond's working method. While the panel may have been abandoned, the costumes of the central figures are essentially complete, with special attention paid to the fall of light across Mary's sumptuous yellow brocade and the armor of the man to her right. The details of the subjects’ heads and hands are mainly rendered in graphite, with some faces and expressions painted with a high degree of finish. The unexpected arrangement of these figures on an exposed plane of grey ground, and the economical suggestion of the street’s architecture, is what made this work one of the highlights of The Met Breuer’s inaugural exhibition Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible in 2016.