"Waulking the Cloth"

Art

This local Lochaber scene depicts women waulking cloth on the shores of Loch Nan Uamh. Six women are seated in a rough circle wielding short mallets and evidently singing, while another group observe them. People waulked the cloth they had woven. This meant that they pulled or stretched the tartan into shape. During the waulking process, they sang Gaelic songs and recited poetry to keep themselves amused. The painting was created by Jemima Wedderburn Blackburn (1823 – 1909) a renowned Scottish artist who lived at Roshven. Although she received no formal training in art, she was a watercolourist of outstanding ability. She had connections with many of the Victorian artistic and intellectual élite and formed life-long friendships with Landseer, Millais and Ruskin, who described her as 'the best artist he knew'. This painting was purchased with the support of The National Fund for Acquisitions to commemorate the 80th anniversary of founding of the West Highland Museum.

Material: watercolour

Size: W 740 mm x H 285 mm

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