Lot 159
WILLIAM GORDON BURN-MURDOCH (1862-1939)
A PROCESSION OF SCOTTISH HISTORY, EARLY 20TH CENTURY
Auction: 19 August 2013 at 12:00 BST
Description
'Showing the Succession of Scottish Kings and the Principal Figures of their Reigns, from the Time of Duncan and Macbeth, in their Proper Arms and Costumes', 25 sets of 10 lithographs; also 115 sheets depicting reduced size images of the central section of the frieze (lot sold with all faults)
Dimensions
Total length, 1402cm, depth, 50.8cm deep
Footnote
Note: William Burn-Murdoch was a Scottish artist and traveller, who undertook polar expeditions. He was a close friend of Patrick Geddes, and the designs were made in connection with Geddes' plans to add a mural or decorative frieze to the facade running around the Castlehill Water Reservoir, located next to the Outlook Tower, Edinburgh. At this time there was a revival in mural decoration in public buildings in Edinburgh - such as the mural decorations by Phoebe Traquair at the Mansfield Church and the Edinburgh Hospital of Sick Children, and by John Duncan and Charles Hodge Mackie at Ramsay Lodge. There is a similar frieze by W.B. Hole in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. These sets of 10 large lithographs were printed as a limited edition as either a teaching aid or for interior decoration. They were always expensive items - when first retailed at the beginning of the 20th century the set retailed at £2 2s for a tinted copy and £1 10s for a black and white copy.