- Alastair Gordon, 6th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair
Alastair Ninian John Gordon, 6th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair (1920 – 2002) was a botanical artist and art critic who succeeded to a peerage later in life.
Gordon was born in 1920, the youngest of five children and the fourth son of Lord Dudley Gordon. He was raised at the family home of
Haddo House and attended Harrow before enteringGray's School of Art . Commissioned into theScots Guards in 1939, he served in theMiddle East andNorth Africa before being invalided toSyria after anIrish Guards man accidentally shot him in the shoulder. Returning to active service, he fought inItaly and North-West Europe before being demobilized as a staffcaptain in 1946. After leaving the services, he and fellow veteran and nobleman Earl Haig enrolled at theCamberwell School of Art .It was at Camberwell that Gordon began to specialize in botanical paintings. Several exhibitions of his art would be held in London, New York, Chicago and Sydney. In 1950, he married the ceramic sculptor Anne Barry. Gordon was also a member of the
International Association of Art Critics and the modern art correspondent for "Connoisseur" magazine in the 1960s. It was at this time (1965) that his father inherited the Marquessate and Alastair became Lord Alastair Gordon.Gordon settled at
Ashampstead , Berkshire, far from his ancestral home at Haddo, allowing him to enjoy the company of artistic, rather than country, society. Aside from his art, he also enjoyed a longtime role as an amateur singer in the Bach Choir.Inheriting the marquessate after the death of his brother in 1984, he sat as a
crossbencher in theHouse of Lords . He attended the Lords only sparingly to speak on topics of interest to him. In his last year of life, he frequently wrote letters and columns on art criticism and other subjects for newspapers. However, he was best known for magazine and other pieces describing his experiences in thebrothel s ofKnightsbridge andBeirut , an activity regarded by his wife with "tolerant amusement." [cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/09/06/1031115934419.html |title=Obituary of the 6th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair |accessdate=2008-02-15]Aberdeen left two daughters and a son:
* Lady Emma Cecile Gordon (b.26 May 1953 ), married Dr. Rodney Foale
*Alexander Gordon, 7th Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair (b. 1955)
* Lady Sophia Katherine Gordon (20 July 1960 –28 December 2005 )References
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