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Turnip Singlers – A Hard Taskmaster

Image credit: Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture

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Notes

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William Darling McKay's Diploma Work depicts a scene of rural labour in his native East Lothian. The majority of his scenes of rural labour from the 1860s tended to focus on the East Lothian countryside. This particular painting depicts the activity of 'singling' or weeding turnips. The cycle tended to follow the pattern of planting, singling, hoeing, lifting, storing and sorting. 'Green crops' such as turnips and potatoes were often cultivated on light coastal soils such as those in East Lothian. The cultivation of turnips was very labour intensive. The man in the straw hat and waistcoat with the dog at his feet appears to be overseeing the work of the labourers. He was known as the 'grieve' and is probably the 'Hard Taskmaster' referred to in the title.

Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture

Edinburgh

Title

Turnip Singlers – A Hard Taskmaster

Date

1883

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 102.7 x W 82.2 cm

Accession number

1995.109

Acquisition method

Diploma Work deposit, 1883

Work type

Painting

Inscription description

W. D. McKay 1883

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Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture

The Mound, Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH2 2EL Scotland

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