Pass at Leny

During his 1865 trip to the United Kingdom, Duncanson had the opportunity to spend considerable time in Scotland. The scenery of the Scottish Highlands had a profound effect on the artist, reaffirming his love for English Romantic writers like Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832).

For "Pass at Leny," Duncanson’s inspiration came from a passage in "A Legend of Montrose" from the Waverly Novels of 1819 by Scott. It reads: “The beautiful pass of Leny…The broken path which they pursued with some difficulty, was in some places shaded by ancient birches and oak trees, and in others overhung by fragments of huge rock…a scene so romantic would have been judged to possess the highest charms for the traveller.”