The Immeasurable Wilds: Travellers to the Far North of Scotland

Two Remarkable Oil Paintings of the Kyle of Tongue

Landscape with Mountains, Lake and Duck Hunters. Image licensed from the Government Art Collection.

Landscape with Causeway, Kyle of Tongue. Image licensed from the Government Art Collection.

These two fine oil paintings are in the Government Art Collection, attributed to Peter de Wint (1784 - 1849). This attribution looks to fit the age of the paintings, c.1830, but, as even the Government Art Collection admits in its notes on the artworks, the two paintings are almost certainly not by de Wint. Whilst he travelled widely in England and Wales, his biographers do not mention a single visit to Scotland, least of all a visit to so inaccessible a region as the north coast of Sutherland.

In my opinion, these are two very important paintings that should not be sitting in storage in the Government Collection in Piccadilly, London, but rather, they should be hanging on a wall in Scotland, preferably in the North. It is my mission to try to find a suitable home for them.

Why are they so important? I have been researching the art of the far north of Scotland for some time. My book, The Immeasurable Wilds, documents the difficulty of access from which the region suffered throughout the 19th century. The road system was greatly improved by Thomas Telford (the direct road from Inverness to Tongue, via Lairg, was completed in the early 1820s), but the completion of the route that now forms part of the NC500, from Thurso along the north coast, then south down to Ullapool and beyond, was a very slow process. It is not surprising, therefore, that few artists managed to reach this part of Scotland. As the rail links improved, paintings of landscapes such as Loch Maree (accessible from Achnasheen station) increase in number, but I know of only two other painters who portrayed the Kyle of Tongue in the early part of the nineteenth century: William Daniell, and the Duchess of Sutherland.

The Duchess of Sutherland was, of course, well placed to explore the north coast from her base at Dunrobin Castle. I have a scarce set of 22 aquatints she published titled "Views on the Northern and Western Coasts of Sutherland." As if to emphasize the lack of knowledge regarding the Kyle of Tongue, she devoted 8 engravings from the set to an almost complete panorama of the inlet, from the Rabbit Islands, round the east side including Tongue House (where she would have been staying), down to Ben Loyal and across to Ben Hope, finishing with the ferry point, the Moin and Melness.  

Ben Loyal, and Castle Varrock.                                                                                                   No title, but I suspect this shows the southern end of the Kyle.

Ben Hope and The Moin.                                                                                                               Ferry Point, the Moin and Melness.

These eight prints show the complete panorama of the Kyle of Tongue, by the Duchess of Sutherland, c.1830. You can see the complete set of 22 on the page in this website, "Sutherland Views by the Duchess of Sutherland."

The other artist visiting this region at this time was William Daniell. Some of the engravings of Scotland's west and north coasts that accompany his monumental Voyage Round Great Britain 1814 - 1825 brought to the British public images of a country they had never seen before. His aquatint of Ben Loyal and the Kyle of Tongue is dated 1820.

Bay of Tongue, Drawn and Engraved by Will. Daniell....London, May 1820.

The text that accompanies the prints describes the Kyle of Tongue thus:

"Loch Tongue is about seven miles in length, and nearly two in breadth at the entrance. Within the two barriers called Rabbit Islands, there is good anchorage for vessels in fine weather, but it is not safe in winter. The prospect inland is finely terminated by the lofty mountains Ben Hope and Ben Loyal. Around what is called the Kyle, there are several neat and substantial houses, chiefly inhabited by sheep-farmers. Lord Reay's seat is on the east side of the bay, and situated as it is among parks, woods and heaths abounding in every variety of game, it forms a most delightful place of residence, particularly for a sportsman. The mansion is plain but commodious, the grounds well laid out, and the gardens in such a state of culture as to produce in perfection all the fruits that can be brought to maturity in this northerly region. The plantations are generally in a flourishing state; but the fir, in situations much exposed to the sea, does not thrive well. Near the shore there is a kind of summer-house, upon which, when the family are at the mansion, a flag is hoisted: and on the appearance of this signal, the tenantry who have business to transact repair thither, and generally carry with them fish, or some other article that may be in request with the household, for which they will be liberally requitted. The expedient is calculated to spare much trouble, inconvenience and loss of time in a place so far remote from any regular market."

Interestingly, the Duke of Sutherland bought the estate from Lord Reay in 1829, suggesting, perhaps, that the Duchess drew her views when exploring the newly-acquired domain. When Daniell visited, it was still in the possession of Lord Reay.

I believe that whoever painted the two oils in the Government Collection, they would, like Daniell, have made their approach by sea. I know of no more such fine landscape paintings of the north-west region of Scotland dating from this time, so the artist does not appear to have made an extended tour of the region. Unless, of course, that artist is William Daniell himself. Looking at the paintings in detail, the one depicts the "lofty mountains of Ben Hope and Ben Loyal", as mentioned in the text. The other one, the Causeway painting, also features a detail mentioned in the text, for the little summer-house seen at the end of the causeway is flying a flag.

Detail from "Landscape with Causeway, Kyle of Tongue", showing the summer-house flying the flag. Tongue House is seen to the left.

This is a very specific detail, a crucial clue, I would argue, as to the identity of the artist. What is more, both paintings depict the other detail mentioned in the text, that it is a fine area for "a sportsman."

Detail from "Landscape with Mountains..."                                                                                       Detail from "Landscape with Causeway...."

I would suggest, therefore, that the two oil paintings in the Government Collection are by William Daniell. He is one of the few artists, probably the only professional artist, that we know to have visited the Kyle of Tongue at that time, and the paintings very much reflect what he wrote of the region in his text.

From the point of view of their importance, these paintings are exceptionally early depictions of an area rarely visited at that time, no matter who painted them. The causeway no longer ends with a ferry, for it has been connected to the western shore by road since 1971. The NC500 road route now ensures that many pass over it, and stop to photograph the very view depicted in these oils of Ben Hope, and Ben Loyal, "The Queen of Scottish Mountains." In my opinion, it is tragic that they spend most of their time in storage in London, occasionally gracing some embassy wall in a foreign land where they have little meaning or significance. If anyone can guide me to a suitable home for them, I would be most grateful.                  greywings89@gmail.com