Lot 130: Charles Goldsborough Anderson (British, 1865-1936)

Gwendolyn Lucy Maitland, The 14th Countess of Lauderdale signed 'C. Goldsborough' (lower left) oil on canvas 881/4 x 441/2 in. (224 x 113 cm.) Painted circa 1920 NOTES This magnificent portrait originally hung in Thirlestane Castle near the Scottish town of Lauder, the family seat of the Earls of Lauderdale for nearly 800 years. Painted circa 1920, Gwendolyn Lucy Maitland stands full-length holding a bouquet of blue irises and dressed in an ephemeral white gown. From the early 1920's the countess wintered in Palm Beach, Florida and at the time this portrait was made, she was already considered one of the leading figures of Palm Beach society. In 1926 she was even awarded the keys to the city of Fort Lauderdale, a city which she had claimed one of her ancestors had founded. She was one of the original investors of a real-estate venture in 1925 involving the development of a Broward county community north of Fort Lauderdale called Floranada. Conceived by her American ancestor Major William Lauderdale, the venture failed, most likely precipitating the sale of the painting along with other Lauderdale treasures.