The interiors at Lansdowne Road were celebrated for their layered aesthetic and bold use of colour, Lady Amabel’s signature approach. Eclectic in range yet coherent in spirit, The Collection of the Hon. Patrick and Lady Amabel Lindsay invites collectors into a world shaped by a thoughtful and deeply personal dialogue between art and interiors. The sale will take place at Dreweatts Donnington Priory on 2 June 2026. 

The Hon. Patrick Lindsay (1928-1986) was the second son of the 28th Earl of Crawford and 11th Earl of Balcarres, and Mary Cavendish, Countess of Crawford and Balcarres, scion of the Dukes of Devonshire. Born into a family with a deep-rooted interest in art, Patrick developed a passion for collecting, inspired by his father, from whom he inherited several paintings offered in the collection – this collecting impulse extended from Old Master and Modern British pictures through to racing cars and aeroplanes. In 1960, Patrick became Head of the Old Master Pictures department at Christie’s in London and was widely regarded as the most persuasive auctioneer of his generation. From the rostrum, he presided over landmark, record-breaking sales, including Mantegna’s Adoration of the Magi to the J. Paul Getty Museum, Velázquez’s Portrait of Juan de Pareja to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Rubens’s Samson and Delilah to the National Gallery. 

Lady Amabel Lindsay (1935-2025), eldest daughter of the 9th Earl of Hardwicke, was a highly regarded interior decorator, celebrated for her discerning eye and country house sensibility. Her eminent circle of clients included Sir Henry Keswick at Oare House, Marlborough; Lord Erne at Crom Castle, Ireland; Lord Hesketh at Easton Neston, Northamptonshire; and Lord Rothschild in London. She combined a deep respect for historical interiors with a confident, personal use of colour and pattern, to create rooms which looked timeless, elegant and effortlessly inviting. She was widely considered to have been an enduring inspiration to her great friend Robert Kime. An Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Art, she was also known for her generous patronage of Art students, championing emerging talent and maintaining a close relationship with the College throughout her life.

The Lindsay family house on Lansdowne Road in Holland Park exemplified a vibrantly inhabited interior, in which the works of art were seamlessly woven into daily life and a world of entertaining. Lady Amabel created spaces in which paintings, furniture and objects were brought together with imagination and flair. The vermillion-red study is one such example, where Joseph Werner portraits of theatrical figures in richly embroidered fancy dress hung alongside an impressive George III mahogany breakfront bookcase, while lavish embroidered silk curtains with Aubusson style pelmets lent a sense of considered eclecticism.

Lady Amabel regularly hosted legendary parties at Lansdowne Road, entertaining the likes of Christopher Gibbs, Nicky Haslam, Maggie Hambling, Jools Holland, The Duke of Beaufort, Dame Drue Heinz and The Rajmata of Jaipur. Beyond the house, she created a country house garden utopia in the heart of London which Arabella Lennox-Boyd noted in Private Gardens of London (1990) “all around are mature trees, greenery and birdsong”.

Commenting on the auction, Head of the House Sales and Private Collections Department, Joe Robinson, said: “The Lindsay Collection is that rare thing, an assemblage that combines refinement with charm. Built in partnership by The Hon. Patrick and Lady Amabel, it is a testament to taste and imagination, which, following her husband’s death, Lady Amabel further developed to create interiors that continued to inspire. The eclecticism of the collection is such that it holds appeal for an exceptionally broad range of collectors - from admirers of traditional Old Masters and historic paintings to contemporary followers of interior design.”

Auction Highlights

Auction Details

Tuesday 2 June 2026, 10.30am BST
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

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