John Callcott Horsley RA (British 1817-1903)
Mary Queen of Scots in Captivity
Estimate: £5,000 - £8,000
Auction: 18 June 2025 from 10:00 BST
Description
Signed and dated 1871, oil on canvas
Dimensions
137 x 185cm (54 x 72.75in)
Footnote
John Callcot Horsley worked initially as a portraitist and illustrator of books. In 1843 he was commissioned by his friend Henry Cole, postal reformer and the inaugural director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, to design the first commercial Christmas card. The following year he was one of 6 entrants chosen to create fresco scenes in the newly rebuilt Palace of Westminster, and he would become increasingly known for his large-scale historical and genre painting.
Depicting the pre-industrial past was a popular theme in Victorian art and the Medieval period was often referenced. The tragic tale of Mary Queen of Scots and her long incarceration, ending with her execution, provided an emotive subject for the viewer. When ‘Mary Queen of Scots in Captivity’ was shown in the Royal Academy of Arts exhibition of 1871, the accompanying label read:
'Mary, at twenty-six years of age, was consigned to the charge of the Earl and Countess of Shrewsbury, and remained a captive in their custody for nearly sixteen years. There was little love lost between the Countess and her royal prisoner. The former, familiarly known as ‘Bess of Hardwick’, was a woman of strong character and imperious disposition, and at one time she was not free from jealousy as to the effect of the Queen's personal attractions upon her husband the Earl.'
Exhibited:
Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1871, no. 193;
Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, 1876, no. 321;
Royal Academy of Arts, London, Works by Recently Deceased Members of the Academy, 1904, no. 132;
Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, and Mappin Gallery, Sheffield, The Queen's Image; A Celebration of Mary, Queen of Scots, 1987
Literature:
Smailes, Helen and Duncan Thomson. The Queen's Image: A Celebration of Mary, Queen of Scots. Edinburgh: National Galleries of Scotland, 1987