Alastair Gordon, 6th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair

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Alastair Ninian John Gordon, 6th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair ( July 20, 1920 , † August 19, 2002 ) was an artist whose work mostly dealt with botany , and an art critic who became a peer in his later life .

life and career

Gordon was born in 1920, the youngest of five children and the fourth son of Lord Dudley Gordon . He grew up on the Haddo House family estate and attended Harrow School before attending Gray's School of Art .

In 1939 he joined the Scots Guards and served in the Middle East and North Africa before becoming an invalid in Syria after he was accidentally shot in the shoulder by an Irish guardsman. After returning to active service, he was involved in missions in Italy and northwestern Europe and was demobilized in 1946 with the rank of staff captain . After completing military service, he and peer and veteran George Haig, 2nd Earl Haig, entered the Camberwell School of Art .

It was there that Gordon began to specialize in botanical paintings. Several of his exhibitions took place in London , New York , Chicago and Sydney . He was also a member of the International Association of Art Critics and a modern art correspondent for Connoisseur magazine in the 1960s. In 1965 his father inherited the title of Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair , and Gordon became Lord Alastair Gordon.

He settled in Ashampstead , Berkshire , far from his ancestors' estate in Haddo, which allowed him to enjoy an artistic rather than a rural society. Apart from the arts, he was also active as an amateur singer in the Bach Choir for a long time .

Membership in the House of Lords

After the death of his brother in 1984, he inherited his title and the then associated seat in the House of Lords . There he sat as a crossbencher . He gave his inaugural address on May 25, 1988.

Gordon did not attend House Lords meetings regularly to discuss subjects of interest to him.

  • 1997/1998 session: 1 day (out of 228)

He last spoke up on July 2, 1997, on the subject of juvenile delinquency . He lost his seat through the House of Lords Act 1999 .

family

Gordon married the ceramic sculptor Anne Barry (1924–2007) on February 24, 1950 . They had three children, two daughters and a son.

Next life

In the last year of his life he wrote regularly letters and columns on art criticism and other topics for newspapers. Most of all, he was best known for magazines and other articles describing his experiences in the brothels of Knightsbridge and Beirut , an activity that his wife viewed with "tolerant amusement".

He died on August 19, 2002 at the age of 82. His son inherited the title as Alexander Gordon, 7th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Aberdeen and Temair, Marquess of (UK, 1916) entry in Cracroftspeerage ; Retrieved August 25, 2017
  2. ↑ Peer at play in the world's brothels article in The Guardian and Telegraph, September 7, 2002
predecessor Office successor
Archibald Gordon Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair
1984-2002 		Alexander Gordon
personal data
SURNAME Gordon, Alastair, 6th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gordon, Alastair Ninian John, 6th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British artist and peer
DATE OF BIRTH July 20, 1920
DATE OF DEATH August 19, 2002