Rediscovered £1.4m Invergordon bust set for tour of world's great galleries
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AN eighteenth century sculpture lost for years and rediscovered propping open an Easter Ross shed door is leaving its home in the Highlands to set off on a world tour to some of the greatest galleries on the globe.
The bust of landowner and MP Sir John Gordon – whose family gave their name to Invergordon – was sculpted by the French artist Edmé Bouchardon in 1728.
Subsequently valued by experts at around £1.4 million, it is due to go on display at the Louvre, in Paris, taking pride of place alongside world renowned works of art like da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and Whistler’s Mother.
It will be part of the gallery’s tribute to Bouchardon, entitled A Sublime Idea of Beauty.
And after its time at Europe’s most famous gallery towards the end of 2016, it’s due to cross the Atlantic to go on show at the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, where it will be under the same roof as other great paintings by van Gogh, Canaletto, Goya and Titian.
The artwork was rediscovered in 1998 and subsequently valued by Sotheby's auction house at around £1.4 million.
Speaking about the famous find now making its way around the world, Cromarty Firth councillor Maxine Smith said: “I had been in search of the former provost’s robes and little did I realise how important this doorstop was that was holding open the door! The Bouchardon sculpture is now raising the profile of Invergordon, the Highlands and Inverness Museum and Art Gallery in some of the world’s top museums.
"I am delighted that its true identity and value to the art world has been discovered and I am very pleased that a part of Invergordon and Highland heritage is now being toured around the world.”
The bust of MP and landowner Sir John Gordon was carved by Edmé Bouchardon, a French sculptor. It was done while he studied in Rome, where he undertook private commissions for the wealthy and prestigious of Europe who visited the Eternal City. He also created a bust of Pope Benedict XIII.
The name of Invergordon can be traced back to Sir John Gordon’s father, Sir William Gordon. The estate on which the town now stands was known as Inverbreakie. But the castle and estate were purchased by Sir William, a London banker, around the beginning of the 18th century. He laid plans for the building of a town nearby.
Sir William also had political ambitions and represented Sutherland through five parliaments between 1708 and 1727, and the county, then called Cromarty-shire, in 1741-42. In 1742, Sir John Gordon succeeded to his father’s latter seat, attaching himself to the Prince of Wales, who in 1745 made him his Secretary for Scotland.
The two international galleries had requested a loan of Sir John’s bust, which is cared for by High Life Highland on behalf of Highland Council. It will return to the Highlands in the spring of next year.
