Lunch with the Deerhounds

One of the marvelous joys of a lunchtime stroll around Edinburgh City Centre for deerhound loving humans, is the fact that one is never more than a few minutes from either a piece of Art or a Sculpture featuring the Scottish deerhound.

A simple visit to the National Galleries for example will bombard the senses with Scottish Life reflected in art from throughout the centuries. Scottish and International Artists having captured many scenes from the Scottish countryside and Scottish Artist using Scottish experience to depict legend and history from around the world.

A particular favourite which deerhounds and their fans can enjoy has to be Young Romilly from 1863 by Alexander Munro. A Marble at a height of: 97 cms it is quite beautiful.

Here is what the National Gallery have to say of this piece:

Munro translated the naturalistic detail and engaging narrative of Pre-Raphaelite paintings into sculpture. Here the young boy, William of Egremont, and his long-haired greyhound (We know it’s a deerhound, the Rogue), are poised on the brink of a chasm, about to plunge to their deaths in the River Wharfe. Munro was inspired by Wordsworth's poem 'The Force of Prayer' which recounts the legend of the founding of Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire in memory of William, 'Young Romilly'. Herbert Ingram, founder of the 'Illustrated London News', allowed one of his young sons to pose as William, so Munro carved the Ingram coat of arms on Romilly's tunic.

And here is a brief biography of the Artist:

Alexander Munro
1825 - 1871
Munro was a gifted sculptor associated with the Pre-Raphaelites. Originally from Inverness, his talent was evident in the early clay models he made, which brought him to the attention of Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland. She introduced him to the architect Charles Barry who had designed the new Houses of Parliament. He invited Munro to London to work on the sculptural decoration of the Parliament building. Munro accepted and also enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools, where he met Rossetti, Millais and Arthur Hughes. Munro shared a house and a studio with Hughes for six years.

Should you visit Edinburgh, a visit to the Galleries is highly recommended - simply click the Gallery links above for information and enjoy the amount of hounds you will discover.

And you can be sure that you will find much more in the way of hound art and histories here in coming blogs.

Rogue the Pre-Raphaelite