Scottish Country Dance of the Day

A watercolour depicting a man performing a sword dance in the ballroom at Balmoral Castle, with the royal family seated in the niche on the left and guests in the foreground.

Lungren was a Swedish artist who worked for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert from 1854 onwards, painting many watercolours of theatrical scenes for them, acting as an artist in residence at Balmoral in the autumn of 1859 and executing a number of commissions depicting family events, including the wedding of the Princess Royal (RCIN 919928) and the christening of Princess Beatrice (RCIN 919914). While at Balmoral he saw the Queen frequently, and found her 'always most Charmingly gracious'.

There were three balls held at Balmoral when Lundgren was in residence in 1859 - two Gillies' Balls on 12 September and 5 October and a Neighbour's Ball on 19 September. It is unclear which ball is represented here. See RCIN 919530 for another watercolour by Lundgren depicting more dancing from (presumably) the same ball. Victoria did note in her journal on 19 September that 'the sword dance was danced really beautifully, by little Ld McDuff'.

This watercolour was originally mounted in View Album VIII. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert compiled nine View Albums during their marriage. These albums contained watercolours and drawings documenting their life together and were arranged in chronological order. The albums were dismantled in the early twentieth century and rebound in new volumes both in a different arrangement and with additional items, but a written record of their original contents and arrangement still exists.

Drawn for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert