Autumn Day, Midlothian
Artist
William McTaggart
(Aros, Argyll, Scotland, 1835 - 1910)
Date1898
Mediumoil on canvas
ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings
DimensionsOverall: Height: 68.2 cm, Width: 98.6 cm
Frame: Height: 96 cm, Width: 127.3 cm
Frame: Height: 96 cm, Width: 127.3 cm
AcquisitionPurchased in 1946 with income from the Webster Bequest.
CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDAG004475
About MeThe last twenty years of McTaggart's life were spent at Dean Park, Broomieknow, in Midlothian, where he was surrounded by the numerous children that had resulted from his second marriage. They and the rural landscape around the house, became the subject of many pictures, such as this.There is also an anecdotal element to this painting, which was sometimes referred to as 'The Soldier's Return'. Whilst no soldier is visible, the children could have gathered on the roadside to wait excitedly for his arrival. Their forms, however, are indistinct and it is the harvest fields, expansive sky and glowing colours that are really the subject of this painting.
More About Me
Sometimes known as "The Soldier's Return" because of the children waiting at the roadside, this painting's real subjects are the harvest fields, expansive sky and glowing colours
Julia Mavrogordato
Thérèse Lessore