Not quite Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, but nevertheless my Christmas painting for this year. I have always wandered how things of great beauty can become so commercial and, dare I say tacky. And this poor beast has suffered this fate over the years. 

Sir Edward Landseer already had a reputation for painting and sculpture of animals including the lions in Trafalgar Square when he received the national commission for The Monarch. It was originally to be hung in The Palace of Westminster as one of three paintings representing ‘The Chase’. Commissioned by the House of Lords, the Commons refused to agree the final payment so the painter sold it commercially. 

During the next hundred or so years it had several owners, some of whom used The Monarch to advertise their own products. It has variously cropped up on biscuit tins, whisky bottles, Pears soap wrappers and even butter. In the mid twentieth century it had become the archetypal cliche of the Highlands being described as the ultimate biscuit tin image of Scotland.

It gave its title to the very popular BBC  series showcasing Richard Briers and Susan Hampshire as the eccentric laird and lady of the rundown Glen Bogle estate. The Monarch sat centre stage in the Monty Pythonesque  cover for the Electric Light Orchestra’s Secret Messages album of 1983.

The twenty first century has been kinder to The Monarch after the last commercial owners, Diageo, loaned the painting to the National Gallery of Scotland in 1997. The company decided to sell the painting in 2016 and the Gallery acquired it after a successful appeal. Oh, that Christmas could retain some of its tranquil beauty.

But look beyond the commercialism of Christmas and you will find the message of peace and goodwill is as beautiful as ever and even more important in these troubled times. 

So I wish you and yours a very peaceful and happy Christmas and New Year, and thanks for supporting White Box Art this last twelve months.