View of Earls' Cross and Sutherland coast
Oil painting of the Sutherland coast and hills seen at night from Dornoch beach, showing the Earl's Cross with Ben Bhraggie and Dunrobin visible in the middle distance. A full moon shines across the water. There is one fishing boat in the foreground on the right, and another in the far distance. The picture is unsigned. The dates given below are guesses. The picture has been painted directly on to a heavy wooden panel, apparently a single piece. The edges have been bevelled back and painted gold in order to frame the picture. The surface of the paint/varnish is wrinkled across much of the picture and in places has cracked so that the wood behind is visible. The whole surface looks reasonably stable but is dirty and dark. The upper right hand corner of the panel has been damaged, possibly by being dropped, but this only affects the frame area. Despite all this it is an attractive scene, but not suitable for display in its current condition. From paper found in office December 2004: "View from the Earl's Cross Dornoch painted by Sophie Rose of Brora. The painter's father was Sanitary Inspector for Sutherland at the turn of the century. Her mother (Bessie?) was a noted local amateur painter. She must have accompanied her husband on his arduous travels as her paintings cover the whole of Sutherland. Their daughter, Sophie, painted too, and she gave this painting as a wedding present in 1902 to Mary Ross, daughter of John Ross, The Poles, Dornoch, on the occasion of her marriage to John Ross of Inverbrora farm. The picture was given to Dornoch Heritage Society in 1999 by her daughters, Margaret and Joey Ross of Morven, The Doll, Brora." (see picture #11983 Catalogue 'Oil Paintings in Public Ownership - North and West Scotland')
Dimensions: Height 346mm - Width 685mm