Tartan and Scottish National Identity
By Amy Hyslop
Tartan is one of the most recognizable symbols of Scottish identity. To the broader world, tartan often evokes images of Highland warriors (I’m looking at you, Outlander), royal pageantry, and cultural pride. However, tartan has served as a powerful visual motif in art beyond its core function as fabric, shaping and reshaping Scotland’s national identity over centuries. From Jacobite portraits to contemporary conceptual art, Scottish visual culture has continuously explored heritage, politics, and self-perception themes.
Bonnie Prince Charlie Entering the Palace at Holyrood Palace, John Pettie, before 30 April 1892. Image credit: Royal Collection Trust.
Before the eighteenth century, tartan was a regional fabric rather than a national emblem. However, the Jacobite uprisings (1688-1746) changed this perception. Tartan became associated with Highland resistance against the British crown, particularly after the failed 1745 rebellion led by Bonnie Prince Charlie.
Artists like John Pettie captured this political symbolism in art, such as Bonnie Prince Charlie Entering the Palace at Holyrood Palace, where the striking figure of Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) emerges into the light wearing full Highland dress. Paintings like these reinforce the connection between tartan and Scottish nationalism in contemporary culture and art. However, after the Act of Proscription (1746), wearing Highland dress was banned to suppress Jacobite sympathies.
George IV, Sir David Wilkie, 1829. Image Credit: Royal Collection Trust.
The nineteenth century saw the dramatic reinvention of tartan as a romantic national symbol, thanks mainly to the works of Sir Walter Scott. His novels celebrated the Highland way of life, helping to revive interest in tartan at a time when it was fading from everyday use.
A pivotal moment came in 1822 when King George IV visited Edinburgh—the first British monarch to do so in two hundred years. Sir Walter Scott encouraged King George IV and other nobles to dress in tartan. This led to a newfound popularity of tartan, which extended into the visual arts. This moment was monumentalized in this grand portrait of King George IV by Sir David Wilkie, one of Scotland’s most famous and talented painters.
THOU'LL GET THY FAIRIN', Rachel Maclean, 2013. Image credit: Edinburgh Printmakers.
One of the challenges facing Scottish visual culture today is the balance between genuine heritage and commercial exploitation. Tartan, once a symbol of resistance and national pride, is now mass-produced for tourism. Artists such as Rachel Maclean criticize this over-commercialization of Scottish symbols and the risk of reducing them to clichés, stripping tartan of their historical and artistic depth.
Born in Glasgow, Maclean creates intricate films and digital prints featuring extravagant costumes, elaborate make-up, green screen visual effects, and electronic soundtracks. Through film and photography, she develops fantastical characters and imaginative worlds that explore political, social, and identity themes. THOU’LL GET THY FAIRIN’ (2013) uses tartan and other national Scottish symbols like the unicorn and saltire flag in a satirical and dystopian way to critique how Scotland is marketed and perceived globally.
From its origins as a regional fabric to its reinvention as a symbol of national pride, tartan has played a central role in Scottish art and identity. Alongside other visual markers, such as heraldic symbols, landscapes, and Celtic motifs, it continues to shape how Scotland is seen—by its own people and the rest of the world.
As contemporary artists challenge, reinterpret, and reclaim these symbols, the question remains: how will Scotland’s visual identity evolve in the years to come?
Bibliography
“George IV’s Visit to Edinburgh,” Royal Collection Trust, n.d., https://www.rct.uk/collection/stories/george-ivs-visit-to-edinburgh.
“Rachel Maclean,” National Galleries, n.d., https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/artists/rachel-maclean.