William Carse

Written by renowned Scottish poet, Robert Burns (1759–1796), in 1790, ‘Tam o' Shanter’ describes the tales of a drunken farmer called Tam on his way home during a stormy night. The scene in this painting shows the moment when Tam, riding his grey mare Meg, discovers ‘an unco sight’,¹ in the ruins of Alloway-Kirk, a church in South Ayrshire, Scotland. Tam can be seen through the arched window in the background; and to the right, the Devil is seen in the form of a beast piping a song, while a young witch called Nannie is dancing in the centre, surrounded by ‘warlocks and witches in a dance’ and open coffins:

‘There sat auld Nick, in shape o' beast; 

A towzie tyke, black, grim, and large, 

To gie them music was his charge: 

He screw'd the pipes and gart them skirl, 

Till roof and rafters a' did dirl. - 

Coffins stood round, like open presses, 

That shaw'd the Dead in their last dresses;

And (by some devilish cantraip sleight)

Each in its cauld hand held a light.’² 

Little is known about the life and works of William Carse, making this painting an exceptionally rare example by the artist. Thought to be the son of the painter Alexander Carse (c. 1770–1843), and brother of James Howe Carse (c. 1819–1900), the few known artworks by William often explore the subject of Tam o' Shanter with a similar example held by the City Art Centre, Edinburgh,³ and four works offered in these rooms in 2005.⁴

¹ W. Wallace (ed.), The Life and Works of Robert Burns, vol. III, Edinburgh and London 1896, p. 216.

² Wallace 1896, p. 217.

³ Oil on panel, 71.1 x 97.1 cm. No. CAC2010/18. City Art Centre, Museums & Galleries Edinburgh.

⁴ Sotheby's Gleneagles, 31 August 2005, lot 810.