Catch a view of Royal Deeside in Aberdeen
20/02/12
An oil painting of Balmoral used for iconic railway posters of the early 1950s, will go on show for the first time from Saturday 25 February at Aberdeen Maritime Museum, Shiprow.
The painting titled Royal Deeside by artist Kenneth Steel was commissioned by British Rail and recently gifted to Aberdeen by BRB (Residuary) Ltd.
The Royal Deeside line was built from Aberdeen to Ballater between 1853 and 1856 and operated until the 1960s.
During the 1950s posters of Royal Deeside were created to encourage tourists to travel along the Deeside Railway as the public grew ever more interested in the location because the Royal Family's fondness of the area which had began with Queen Victoria.
Neil Butters, secretary of the Railway Heritage Committee, said: "We are delighted to be able to help return this beautiful painting closer to the area which inspired its creation and which had once been owned by BRB (Residuary) Ltd."
Aberdeen Maritime Museum's curator [industry] Jenny Brown added: "Our railway collections have previously focussed on the more commercial aspects of rail travel, but this painting captures the romantic ideal of train travel and gives us an idea of why people chose to explore Deeside by rail. The painting is very rich in texture and much more impressive in person that the poster image."
The painting will be on display until Wednesday 15 June at Aberdeen Maritime Museum.
Aberdeen Maritime Museum
Opening hours
Tuesday – Saturday 10am-5pm
Sunday 12noon – 3pm
Closed Monday
Admission free
www.aagm.co.uk