Landseer's Scene in Braemar Sells for £5.9 Million, Shattering Artist's Record

Q: After its record £5.9M sale, will Landseer's 'darker' masterpiece ever be seen by the public again?

It is impossible to say yet. After the £5.9 million Sotheby’s sale, there is no public indication of who bought Sir Edwin Landseer’s *Scene in Braemar* or whether the new owner plans to lend it for exhibition. What is clear is that the painting has been publicly shown before, despite spending much of its life in private hands. Sotheby’s described it as “rarely seen in public,” but it has appeared in exhibitions on several occasions, including a notable 2005 display in Edinburgh alongside *Monarch of the Glen*. That history suggests future public viewings are possible, especially if the buyer is a collector willing to lend to museums. Its size, importance and close relationship to *Monarch of the Glen* also make it a strong candidate for future exhibitions. Sotheby’s called it one of Landseer’s great Highland masterpieces, and it has long been regarded as a major work rather than a minor companion piece. But there is no guarantee. The painting has repeatedly moved through private collections since the 19th century, and private ownership can mean long periods out of public sight. Unless the buyer is a museum, a public institution, or an owner who announces loan plans, access will remain uncertain. So the best answer is that the public may well see it again, but for now its future visibility depends entirely on the new owner.

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 2

£5,946,000 was paid for Sir Edwin Landseer’s Scene in Braemar at a London Sotheby’s auction, far above its estimate of up to £4 million.
The sale set a new high for Landseer by fetching about five times the previous record for one of his works; the painting last sold at auction in 1994 for £793,500.
The nearly 9ft canvas depicts a 12-point stag on a Highland peak and is described by Sotheby’s as a darker, more epic sister work to Monarch of the Glen.
Commissioned by railway magnate Edward Betts, who originally paid £800, the painting had moved through private collections after he sold it during an 1868 banking crisis.