Art of Power: The 3rd Earl of Bute, Politics and Collecting in Enlightenment Britain

In 2017, the Mount Stuart Trust and The Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, will host a major exhibition merging art, biography, politics and cultural history. "Art of Power: Masterpieces from the Bute Collection" uncovers the fascinating Enlightenment figure, John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713-1792), and his collection of rarely-seen masterpieces.

The Bute Collection was largely formed in the eighteenth century by John Stuart, the first Scottish-born Prime Minister and ‘favourite’ of George III. A three-day symposium, inspired by themes explored in the exhibition, seeks to bring together established and early career scholars from different faculties and professional backgrounds to discuss the dynamic interplay between art, politics and collecting so evident in the life of the 3rd Earl of Bute.

We welcome proposals for individual twenty-minute papers exploring themes including, but not limited to:
- 3rd Earl of Bute and eighteenth-century collecting practices, patronage, patterns and networks
- Reception of Dutch art in eighteenth-century Britain
- Aristocratic and Royal collecting
- Scottish Enlightenment, Scottish identity and Jacobitism
- Taxonomies and ordering
- Mid-eighteenth-century politics and political culture
- Anglo-Scottish relations
- Bute, satire and political prints

Abstracts of 300 words should be sent to: Dr Caitlin Blackwell (caitlinmountstuart.com) and/or Dr Oliver Cox (oliver.coxhumanities.ox.ac.uk) by 1st May, 2017.

The symposium will be held at the University of Glasgow and at Mount Stuart on the Isle of Bute. Papers will be delivered on day one in Glasgow, with days two and three taking place at Mount Stuart. The two days on Bute will include tours of the house, archives and collection highlights.

For more about Mount Stuart and Art of Power: Masterpieces from Bute Collection please visit http://www.mountstuart.com/artofpower.