St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh

by Alfred Edward Borthwick, R.S.A.

Painted in St Mary’s Cathedral in 1910, this picture shows crowds thronging around the distant gleaming High Altar during a service of Holy Communion;  in the foreground a woman is kneeling in prayer, with Christ standing nearby, his hand outstretched to bless. After being exhibited throughout the British Isles, this picture was sent to Munich in 1914 for reproductions to be made, but when in Germany it was sold illegally for £5,000 to a firm in the United States of America.  A New York newspaper answered the query "Is religion dead?" by saying "No, because of Christ’s abiding presence in his Church"  and for reproducing this picture in illustration of that answer the newspaper was sued for £30,000 for breach of copyright.  In 1918 Congress passed a special act to prevent this picture being sold as confiscated German property, and it was returned to Scotland. 

Preserved in the vaults of the Royal Scottish Academy during five years of war, in December 1944 it was presented by the artist and his wife to the Cathedral where it had been painted, and where they were married.