No painting of the legendary Jacobite Cluny of the ’45 was thought to exist… until now
Newtonmore’s famed Macpherson Museum has thrown some light on a mystery which has prevailed since the great Jacobite rebellion of 1745.
The remarkable story of Ewan Macpherson of Cluny - who deserted the Hanoverian army to join Bonnie Prince Charlie and then had to run and hide for years after the rout at Culloden - is told in a portrait which for centuries was believed not to exist.
It was finally found to exist on the very wall of the Badenoch museum, after centuries of being regarded simply as an ‘interesting early picture of tartan’.
The man who has researched the subject more than many is John Barton, of Drumguish.
He told the Strathy: “I have always had a fascination with the Clan Macpherson - my mother was a Macpherson - and of particular interest has been Ewan Macpherson of Cluny, the legendary Cluny of the ’45, who was forced to spend nine years in hiding after the defeat.
“It was generally believed that no painting of Cluny of the ’45 had survived. Unbelievably, I recently discovered that a painting does indeed exist and that it has been permanently on exhibition in the Clan Museum in Newtonmore!
“You might say it was hiding in plain sight for generations.
“It also transpires that there are even contemporary copies of the painting in the National Gallery in Edinburgh and in Inverness Art Gallery - although both of them are in store.”
The Newtonmore painting had been celebrated in its own right as a very early example of tartan – but it had always been associated with Andrew Macpherson, the 15th chief, who died in 1666.
The painting is prominently displayed in the museum and will prove quite a draw to both clan members and historians wanting to meet the famous turncoat face to face.
Initially the official story was that the picture was a portrait of Andrew Macpherson, the 15th Chief of the Clan.
It was hung in Cluny Castle until after the death, in 1932, of Albert Cameron Macpherson, the youngest son of Ewen Macpherson, ‘Old Cluny’.
Mr Barton explained: “The contents of the castle were sold by auction in 1943.
“A significant number of the relics were purchased on behalf of the clan and formed the basis of the collection when our museum was opened in 1952.
“The painting did not appear in the sale catalogue under the name of Andrew Macpherson.
“However, when the museum opened, the painting was recorded as being of ‘Andrew, the 15th Chief’.
“In preparation for an article in the clan’s Creag Dhubh magazine I examined the versions of the painting held by the National Galleries of Scotland and the Inverness Museum and Art Gallery. They appeared to be of similar antiquity.
“In each case, the figure is identical but there are significant variations in the background. The name of the painter does not appear on either painting.
“Ewan, forever known as “Cluny of the ‘45”) was a young man in the 1720s.
“The painting is most likely to be of that period - and we had an understanding within the family that it was indeed a painting of Ewan.
“On the balance of probabilities, there is a strong case for saying that the painting is of the young Cluny - some 20 years before he joined Princes Charles Edward in the ill-fated rising of 1745.”
Strathy readers can follow up the story for themselves at the museum on Main Street, which is open 10am to 5pm Monday to Saturdays.
