In the words of Victorian author Amelia Murray MacGregor:
Grant wears plaid and kilt of Grant tartan. His accoutrements include a fine pair of flintlock all-steel pistols and a powder-horn, and he carries a modern Lochaber axe. His sword has an unusual basket hilt.Fraser wears plaid and kilt of Fraser tartan. His sword, with basket hilt, is of late eighteenth- or early nineteenth-century pattern used by different Highland volunteer units. In the background is a view of Strathspey, in Inverness-shire.John Frasers expenses for the eight days he spent in Edinburgh, in February 1868 having his portrait painted, included his second class fare from Beauly to Edinburgh, at 1.5s.7d each way. His food, lodging and a cab amounted to 4. 16s. Three shillings a day was paid as wages to the man who did Frasers work in his absence. He also had to spend a day at Lovat Castle arrangingthe accoutrements for the portrait and another day at Inverness preparing his outfit. The opening of the railway lines in Scotland much facilitated the traveling arrangements for MacLeays sitters; the Perth to Inverness line had opened in 1863 and had been extended to Invergordon in the same year.
A percentage of the proceeds from the sale of this print will be donated to The Scottish Tartans Authority.
You can download a more detailed description of this painting by visiting The Tartan Zone.