James Stuart, the Old Pretender

Magazine Antiques, August, 2001 by Miriam Kramer

prince James Francis Ed-Stuart (or Stewart), the son of the Catholic James II of Great Britain, was born in Saint James's Palace, London, in 1688. It was clear that he would be raised a Catholic, but in the year he was born, William of Orange led a Protestant coup d'etat that led to the infant James's exile in France.

In 1715, James Stuart, known as the Old Pretender, landed in Scotland and led an unsuccessful Jacobite rebellion. He fled to Madrid in 1719 and soon after to Rome, where he died in 1766. In both his French and Roman exiles James was an enthusiastic patron of the arts, in particular commissioning portraits of himself and his family from the most eminent painters of the day.

The loyal Jacobite toast to the Stuart family was to "the king over the water," and that is the title of an exhibition of works relating to the Old Pretender on view at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh until September 30. James Holloway is the curator of the exhibition, which has been sponsored by Drambuie and supported by Baillie Gifford and Company. The accompanying catalogue was written by Edward Corp and can be ordered by telephoning 44-131-624-6259.