John George Stewart-Murray, Marquis of Tullibardine, later 8th Duke of Atholl (1871-1942); eldest surviving son of 7th Duke of Atholl; Captain and Brevet-Major Royal Horse Guards; Lord High Commissioner to the Church of Scotland; Lord Chamberlain of the Household; Chief of the Glasgow Celtic Society.

8th Duke of Atholl (1873-1914); 2nd surviving son of 7th Duke of Atholl; Major 1st Bn. Black Watch, killed in action 14 September 1914.

Miss Helene Violet Alice Keith Fraser, later Countess of Stradbroke (d. 1949); D.B.E. cr. 1927; only daughter of Lt.-Gen. James Keith Fraser; m (1898) 3rd Earl of Stradbroke, Governor of Victoria.

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In this odd juxtaposition of characters, Miss Violet Keith Fraser is seen in the photographer’s tent on the night of the Ball with the heir to the Dukedom of Atholl and his younger brother Lord George Murray.

All three were unmarried in 1897. The future Duke of Atholl was to have a very distinguished future in the military, politics, public affairs, the church and business. Ms Keith Fraser was to marry the 3rd Earl of Stradbroke a year later. Lord George Murray, also a soldier, was killed in action in 1914.

As the sons of a Scottish aristocrat, and soldiers in the 3rd Battalion Royal Highlanders, the brothers appear to be expressing their Scottish patriotism by dressing in costume of the 18th-century when followers of the Stuart dynasty, including their direct ancestor, were trying to remove the protestant Hanoverians from the throne of England.

Although Delilah was well-known figure from paintings (including canvases by Van Dyck and Rubens), Ms Keith Fraser’s choice of role may well have been influenced by the popularity of the opera Samson et Dalila by Saint-Saëns, which had been seen in the opera houses of Europe after its first success in Paris 1890.

Her costume appears to be modelled on that worn by Delilah as Samson brings down the temple of Dagon. She wears a Queen Alexandra-style diamond choker and a stylized lotus-leaf diamond necklace. Her costume was described in the press as:

“a beautifully embroidered robe of mauve crêpe de Chine embroidered in Oriental colours, a gold sash encrusted with jewels, and scarlet drapery falling from the shoulders at the back; her headdress was of silver, with wings at the side.”

In the triple portrait, retouching preparations have been made to remove the background perhaps in order to create a vignette of Miss Keith Fraser with her two dashing officers.

Amour, viens aider ma faiblesse!
Verse le poison dans son sein!
Fais que, vaincu par mon adresse,
Samson soit enchaîné demain!

O love! From thy pow’r let me borrow!
Pour a poison in his heart!
Grant that this Samson fall tomorrow,
a slave, a captive to my art.

Samson et Dalila, Act II, by Camille Saint-Saëns,, libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire
first performed 1890

 

No of poses: 2 [see also neg no 1359].[see neg no 1429, but see also neg nos 1358 & 1359].

References:

Biog: (8th Duke of Atholl) Burke's Peerage; The Complete Peerage; Who's Who; The Queen, 2 February 1895, p 194; The Times, 17 March 1942, p 6. (See also Duchess of Atholl, Working Partnership, London , 1958; Brian Masters, The Dukes, London, 1980; Jane Anderson, ‘Murray, John George Stewart-, eighth duke of Atholl (1871–1942)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. (Lord George Stewart-Murray) Burke's Peerage. (Miss Keith Fraser, later Countess of Stradbroke) Burke's Peerage (see Fraser, Bt. & Stradbroke); A. Winton Thorpe, ed., Handbook to The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, (facsimile edition), London, 1988.

Role: (Marquis of Tullibardine & Lord George Stewart-Murray) Devonshire House Fancy Dress Ball, July 2 1897: A Collection of Portraits in Costume of Some of the Guests, privately printed, 1899, p 268, (National Portrait Gallery Archives). (Misss Keith Fraser) (African Queen) The Court Circular, 10 July 1897, p 625a; The Court Journal, 10 July 1897, p 1247c; The Gentlewoman, 10 July 1897, p 56b; The Queen, 10 July 1897, p 73c; The Sketch, 14 July 1897, p 488; (Delilah) Vanity Fair, 8 July 1897, p 27a; Devonshire House Fancy Dress Ball, July 2 1897: A Collection of Portraits in Costume of Some of the Guests, privately printed, 1899, p 125, (National Portrait Gallery Archives).

Occasion: Sophia Murphy, The Duchess of Devonshire's Ball, London, 1984; (Marquis of Tullibardine & Lord George Stewart-Murray) (danced in the Louis XV and Louis XVI period quadrilles) The Morning Post, 3 July 1897, p 7f; (Miss Keith Fraser) (listed as part of Oriental Procession) The Morning Post, 3 July 1897, p 7e; The Times, 3 July 1897, p 12a.

Costume: (Miss Keith Fraser) The Court Circular, 10 July 1897, p 625a; The Court Journal, 10 July 1897, p 1247c; The Gentlewoman, 10 July 1897, p 56b; The Queen, 10 July 1897, p 73c.

Costume Supplier: (Miss Keith Fraser) Vanity Fair, 8 July 1897, p 18b.

Photography: The Daily Telegraph, 3 July 1897, p 9f; Black & White, 10 July 1897, p 38b.

Reproduced: (Marquis of Tullibardine & Lord George Stewart-Murray) (Version ) Devonshire House Fancy Dress Ball, July 2 1897: A Collection of Portraits in Costume of Some of the Guests, privately printed, 1899, p 268. (National Portrait Gallery Archives). (Miss Keith Fraser) (Version ) ibid, p 125.

1. For the role played by the sitters' 18th century counterparts (William, Marquis of Tullibardine (1689-1746) and his younger brother, Lord George Murray (1694-1760), Lieutenant-General to Prince Charles Edward) in the Jacobite Rising of 1745, see Dictionary of National Biography & ...