Art and Identity in Scotland
A Cultural History from the Jacobite Rising of 1745 to Walter Scott
Published on 11. March 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
354 pages
978-1-108-40558-4 (ISBN)
Description
This lively and erudite cultural history of Scotland, from the Jacobite defeat of 1745 to the death of an icon, Sir Walter Scott, in 1832, examines how Scottish identity was experienced and represented in novel ways. Weaving together previously unpublished archival materials, visual and material culture, dress and textile history, Viccy Coltman re-evaluates the standard cliches and essentialist interpretations which still inhibit Scottish cultural history during this period of British and imperial expansion. The book incorporates familiar landmarks in Scottish history, such as the visit of George IV to Edinburgh in August 1822, with microhistories of individuals, including George Steuart, a London-based architect, and the East India Company servant, Claud Alexander. It thus highlights recurrent themes within a range of historical disciplines, and by confronting the broader questions of Scotland's relations with the rest of the British state it makes a necessary contribution to contemporary concerns.
Reviews / Votes
'By focusing on material and visual evidence, Professor Coltman brings fresh and original perspectives to the study of Scottish identity?. The perceptive arguments within the book are complemented by an impressive examination of relevant original sources. The result is an important study.' Sir Tom Devine, Professor Emeritus, University of Edinburgh 'Viccy Coltman's book explores the multiple negotiations of Scottish identity with Britain, Europe and the Empire through art and material culture with flair, skill and a wide range of reference. Fresh thoughts and insights are everywhere, from Warren Hastings' visit to Ossian's Hall to the commodification of Paul Sandby. Highly recommended.' Murray Pittock, Bradley Professor of English Literature, University of Glasgow 'Coltman's book is an illuminating and entertaining contribution to the study of Scottish visual culture, opening the ongoing debate about Scottish identity to cosmopolitan and colonial influences, and widening the range of critical perspectives brought to bear upon it.' Nigel Leask, H-Albion 'As a cultural history, Coltman's book is exemplary, informed by considerable new archival material, shuffling her pack of slippery identity concepts with great dexterity, and lightened by flashes of wit throughout.' Robin N. Campbell, Journal of the Scottish Society for Art HistoryMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises; 32 Plates, color; 66 Halftones, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 170 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
611 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-108-40558-4 (9781108405584)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Viccy Coltman
Art and Identity in Scotland
A Cultural History from the Jacobite Rising of 1745 to Walter Scott
Book
11/2019
Cambridge University Press
€156.00
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Person
Viccy Coltman is a professor of history of art at the University of Edinburgh, where she is an authority on eighteenth-century visual and material culture in Britain. The author of four books including two monographs, an edited and co-edited volume, Coltman has been awarded fellowships by the Whitney Humanities Center at Yale, the Huntington Library, the National Gallery of Washington DC and the British School at Rome, amongst others. In 2006 she was awarded a Philip Leverhulme Prize in recognition of her outstanding contribution to History of Art. Coltman is currently the academic lead on a MOOC, a Massive Open Online Course on 'Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites', in collaboration with the National Museums Scotland.
Content
Introduction; Part I. Beyond Scotland: 1. Scots in Europe: 'making a figure' - painted portraiture on the Grand Tour; 2. Scots in London: 'the means of bread with applause' - George Steuart's architectural elevation; 3. Scots in Empire: 'good fishing in muddy waters' - Claud Alexander in Calcutta and Catrine; Part II. Within Scotland: 4. The Prince in Scotland: 'daubed with plaid and crammed with treason' - the visual and material culture of embodied insurrection; 5. The Monarch in the metropolis: a scopic spectacle - George IV's visit to Edinburgh, August 1822; 6. Borders Bard: 'the exactness of the resemblance': Sir Walter Scott and the physiognomy of Romanticism; Conclusion: Scott-land.