Monarch of The Glen 1851 By Edwin Henry Landseer

Edwin Landseer's Monarch of the Glen is one of the most instantly recognizable pieces of Scottish art.
Landseer's famous painting is an icon of Scotland and the Scottish landscape.

When was the Monarch of the Glen painted?

Painted in 1851, the Monarch of the Glen painting depicts a red deer stag. Sir Edwin Landseer's painting is part of a series of works initially destined for the Palace of Westminster in London.
Because of its unprecedented popularity, however, the painting became increasingly controversial. Seen as a cliché and promoting “biscuit tin” stereotypes of Scottish wilderness. Debates rage regarding its appropriate place in the popular imagination. 

Commentators allude to the painting as a “swirling storm of Victorian melodrama” and “cultural colonialism.” Nevertheless, Sir Edwin Landseer's most famous painting is one of the most skilled animal paintings ever created, providing a potent symbol of contested national identity.

The stag itself has antlers with twelve points. Referred to as a “royal stag," It is a fitting composition for the Palace of Westminster. The setting shows Glen Affric, a stunning area of outstanding natural beauty, some fifteen kilometers west of Loch Ness.

In the painting, the stag emerges from the heather-clad hills, clothed in highland mist and mystery. The composition of this oil painting is powerful and cleverly structured, luring the viewer ever closer to the powerful and proud animal. 

Since its creation, Monarch of the Glen has become one of British art's most discussed and reproduced visual icons.

Why are Edwin Landseer's paintings famous?

Sir Edwin Landseer, an Englishman, was a favorite painter of Queen Victoria. As a member of the prestigious Royal Academy of London, he created many astounding depictions of animals. 

Other famous Landseer animal artworks include the lions at the base of Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square, horses in The Arab Tent, and the mystical scenery of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. From the 1840s onwards, however, he created a series of paintings depicting stags. 

Edwin Landseer's stag paintings are observed in incredible detail, emerging from his regular sporting trips to the Scottish Highlands. They include stunning works such as The Highland Nurses and Highland Deer.  Problematically, however, stag hunting by the English upper classes played a fundamental role in the Highland Clearances. The painting symbolizes the prioritization of rich Englishmen’s sports pursuits over Scottish lives, adding an extra layer of meaning to the artwork.  

Sir Edwin Landseer's famous painting is no mere superficial image but one with a rich and complex, politically-charged history.

Despite its current popularity and technical brilliance, the painting was not initially well-received. Commissioned for the Refreshment Rooms of the House of Lords in the Palace of Westminster, the House of Commons refused to pay for the painting when it was completed. 

While the refusal to pay relates to funding rather than a comment on Edwin Landseer's paintings, the artist never received the promised £150 payment. Consequently, the series of paintings, including Monarch of the Glen, went to private collectors.

Who owns the Monarch of the Glenn painting?

Sir Edwin Landseer's most famous painting currently hangs in the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh. In 2017, they launched a well-publicized campaign to purchase the painting, raising £4 million for sale.

Despite its current and rightful place in the National Gallery, the painting has a fascinating sale history. The painting slowly increased in fame and was exhibited in 1851, 1874, and 1890. William Denison, the 1st Earl of Londesborough, owned the painting in 1884; ownership passed to Henry Eaton, the 1st Baron Cheylesmore.

On Henry Eaton’s death in 1892, the painting sold for £7,245 at Christie’s Auction House, London. After this, the painting passed hands multiple times before returning to Christie’s in 1916. Purchased by Pears Soap Company for £5,250, it is featured in much of their advertising.  Pears later sold the painting to John Dewar and Sons distillery, where the stag became their whisky trademark. This Glenfiddich whisky company still uses the Landseer's stag logo today. 

In 1997, the British multinational beverage company Diageo purchased Dewar’s distillery. They loaned the artwork to the National Gallery of Scotland until 2016, when Diageo announced its intention to sell.

Although valued at £8 million, Diageo promised to sell the Monarch of the Glen to the National Gallery of Scotland. For the deal, they just had to raise half the purchase price. A successful funding campaign secured the painting’s place for the nation.

Monarch of the Glen is part of our Art Collection of famous animal paintings.   It remains a controversial painting and a conflicting source of Scottish identity.

Buy art reproductions of famous Sir Edwin Landseer paintings from our extensive online art catalog of sporting wall art.