Scotland Forever. The Royal Scots Greys Charge At Waterloo. Painting By Lady Elizabeth Butler. From The World's Greatest Paintings, Published By Odhams Press, London, 1934. Poster Print (20 x 10)

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After her marriage in 1877 to Sir William Francis Butler (1838–1910), an officer of the British Army, from Ireland, Butler traveled the far reaches of the Empire with her husband.

NDRF jawans were big, pipes were small, I decided to go in’: Meet a rescuer who cleared the way for Uttarakhand tunnel opWaterloo was rich in both. Napoleon’s last stand cannot be turned into a modern conflict like the first world war. It happened in an age of artillery, but also of swords and horses, as depicted in Scotland Forever! The cavalry here could almost be ancient Romans or medieval knights – the technology was much the same. So are the codes of chivalry and honour that coexisted with slaughter and cruelty in traditional warfare.

In 1815, on the vast battlefield of Waterloo, an iconic moment unfolded that would be immortalised in history and art. It was here that Elizabeth Thompson, a talented British artist, captured the essence of courage and patriotism in her masterpiece “Scotland Forever!” The painting portrayed the stirring charge of the Royal Scots Greys, a gallant British cavalry regiment, alongside their heavy cavalry comrades, as they prepared to face the chaos and uncertainty of war. The title itself, “Scotland Forever!”, derived from the resounding battle cry of the soldiers, who with hearts ablaze, shouted, “Now, my boys, Scotland forever!” before plunging fearlessly into the fray. Thompson’s artistic brilliance lay not only in her ability to depict the battle’s onset but also in her keen observations of charging horses. Interestingly enough, having never experienced a real battle, she drew inspiration from watching her husband’s regiment during their training manoeuvres. Why did the fame of “Scotland Forever!” reach far and wide, crossing national boundaries? And is it historically accurate? The Battle of Waterloo and its Significance Her fame increased as the paintings toured Europe, along with photographs of Elizabeth. She gained even more notice because people found out that she was both young and pretty, something normally not associated with painters of battle scenes. It also helped that during this time, there was a huge swell of Victorian pride and romanticism for the growing British Empire. [2] [3] [4] While Lady Butler's topics reflected such romanticism, her paintings were generally realistic in detail, with aspects such as confusion, mud and exhaustion being accurately portrayed. Her works tend to focus on British troops shown in action, or shortly after it, but avoiding scenes of hand-to-hand combat. The troops are often shown as their opponents might have seen them, but relatively few of the opponents themselves are shown. Waterloo was a decisive engagement and Napoleon’s last. According to Wellington, the battle was “the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life.” Butler was inspired to paint the charge as a response to a painting that she saw and intensely disliked. Famous for her portrayals of battle scenes, Elizabeth Butler was a remarkable artist and one of the few 19th-century women to acquire fame for her historical paintings. Elizabeth Thompson The painting was exhibited at the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly in 1881. Tzar Nicholas II of Russia and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany both received copies and later during the First World War both the British and the Germans used the image in their propaganda material, with the Scots Greys transformed into Prussian cavalry by the Germans. [1]She wrote about her military paintings in an autobiography published in 1922: “I never painted for the glory of war, but to portray its pathos and heroism.” She married Lieutenant-General Sir William Butler, becoming Lady Butler. At a time when Scotland seems on a road that leads ultimately out of the union, it’s worth remembering that Waterloo did much to create the British patriotism that is now disintegrating. “Scotland Forever!” was these riders’ battle cry, but they were not calling for independence. Rather they were proudly articulating a Scottish identity within the British army. Their courage at Waterloo helped seal the image of Scottish military toughness within the mythology of the British Empire. Lady Butler painted Scotland Forever! in 1881, at the height of empire. The connection between kilts and courage would be a cliche of British imperialism right through to the 1968 film Carry On Up the Khyber. The painting toured the country, attracting large crowds. Artist William Holman Hunt noted in his book Pre-Raphaelitism that "it touched the nation's heart as few pictures have ever done". The painting has highly popular and was reproduced many times and is considered an iconic representation of the battle itself and heroism more generally.

The lead rider is arguably either Lt Col James Hamilton who led the first charge but was killed in the second smaller charge, or Captain Edward Cheney who had his horse shot from under him five times in the battle, once on each charge, who was promoted to Brevet Colonel in the field due to the death of both Hamilton and Sir William Ponsonby, and led the 3rd, 4th and 5th charge. The painting is not intended to be a portrait of either. Usherwood, Paul. – "Elizabeth Thompson Butler: a case of tokenism." – Woman's Art Journal. – Vol. 11, Fall–Winter 1990–91, 14–15 Butler was inspired to paint the charge as a response to the aesthetic paintings that she saw — and intensely disliked — on a visit to the Grosvenor Gallery. She had developed a reputation for her military pictures after the favourable reception of her earlier painting The Roll Call of 1874, on a subject from the Crimean War, and her 1879 painting Remnants of an Army, on the 1842 retreat from Kabul. [1] Scotland Forever! is an 1881 oil painting by Lady Butler depicting the start of the charge of the Royal Scots Greys, a British heavy cavalry regiment that charged with other British heavy cavalry at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The painting has been reproduced many times and is considered an iconic representation of the battle itself, and of heroism more generally. [1] [2] History and description [ edit ]Butler was inspired to paint the charge as a response to the aesthetic paintings that she saw - and intensely disliked - on a visit to the Grosvenor Gallery. She had developed a reputation for her military pictures after the favourable reception of her earlier painting The Roll Call of 1874, on a subject from the Crimean War, and her 1879 painting Remnants of an Army, on the 1842 retreat from Kabul. A British-led allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington, and a Prussian army. The battle marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Lady Butler developed a reputation for her military pictures after the favourable reception of this painting. It was followed by a series of military paintings, Quatre Bras in 1875, and then two more Crimean paintings, Balaclava and Inkermann, exhibited at the Fine Art Society in 1876 and 1877. These were followed in 1879 by Remnants of an Army and in 1881 her most famous work, Scotland Forever!. Scotland Forever! is an 1881 oil painting by Lady Butler depicting the start of the charge of the Royal Scots Greys, a British cavalry regiment that charged alongside the British heavy cavalry at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The painting has been reproduced many times and is considered an iconic representation of the battle itself, and of heroism more generally.

Calling the Roll After An Engagement, Crimea, better known as The Roll Call, is an 1874 oil-on-canvas painting by Elizabeth Thompson, Lady Butler. It became one of the most celebrated British paintings of the 19th century, but later fell out of critical favour [ citation needed]. This glorious vision of British martial manhood was painted by a woman, Lady Elizabeth Butler, born Elizabeth “Mimi” Thompson, and it is called Scotland Forever! The title comes from the battle cry of the soldiers who called “Now, my boys, Scotland forever!” as they charged. Butler had never observed a battle; however, she did watch her husband’s regiment during training maneuver, and she positioned herself in front of charging horses to study their movement. Rohit Bal is ‘critical, on ventilator’, says treating doctor: ‘He has a heart condition and some infection’

Elizabeth Southerden Thompson Butler

The painting was exhibited at the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly in 1881. It is now housed at the Leeds Art Gallery, having been one of its earliest acquisitions, a gift from Colonel Thomas Walter Harding (1843–1927) in 1888. [2] It was also an inspiration for the depiction of the same charge in the film Waterloo. [ citation needed] Scotland Forever! by Elizabeth Thompson depicts the start of the charge of the Royal Scots Greys, a British cavalry regiment that charged alongside the British heavy cavalry at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. I would like to offer an alternative view: that Waterloo was arguably in large part a Scottish victory. There are two reasons behind this assertion. Wellington, when asked how the battle was won, said without hesitation that it all hung on ‘the closing of the gate at Hougoumont’.