Anne Lindsay with Balcarres and John

This lovely family group was painted by Sir John Watson Gordon soon after her husband Robert had travelled post haste to Lucca, to prevent their oldest boy, William, from getting married to the young English woman he had fallen in love with during his Grand Tour. His father intended William to study law and take his place among the landed gentry of Midlothian.  An advantageous marriage was the plan, not a holiday romance. Having achieved this sad object, Robert may have had time to visit a jewelers and purchase a showy parure for his wife. Back home, he was inspired to commission this portrait, which shows her in Rubenesque style as a mature maternal figure with her two younger sons, still in petticoats. Balcarres is shown standing close to his mother, while John sits on her lap. The red hair inherited from their Lindsay ancestors is clearly visible. 

The necklace was only revealed when the painting was restored, and a layer of flesh-coloured paint was removed from Lady Anne’s neck. It may have been covered over at her request, as she became very devout in her later years and may have wanted a less ostentatious portrait. Maybe she never liked the parure!