Unveiling of new statuary group, Burns Mausoleum, Dumfries

A monochrome sepia toned photographic print of the dignitaries involved in the unveiling ceremony, taken in front of the mausoleum.   The original statuary group in the mausoleum was designed and worked by Peter Turnerelli. It depicted Burns' own conception of "Coila", representing the Ayrshire district of Kyle where he was born, throwing her inspiring mantle over the poet as he works at the plough.   By the early 1900s it had begun to show signs of deterioration and there was a movement to replace the statuary and to renovate the mausoleum. The sculptor, Hermon Cawthra was selected and the new statuary group was unveiled on the 19th September 1936.   This photograph of the ceremony includes James Ramsay MacDonald, Lord President of the Council, who performed the unveiling, Jean Armour Burns Brown, great granddaughter of the poet and Sir Henry Fildes MP.