The late Sir Angus Grossart speaking at Lyon & Turnbull’s 10th Anniversary celebrations in 2009.
A key player in the refurbishment of the Burrell Collection, donating £1m to the project and a past chairman of the trustees of the National Galleries of Scotland, he was also chairman and major shareholder to both auction house Lyon & Turnbull and dealership The Fine Art Society.
Lyon & Turnbull was relaunched in 1999 with the support of Noble Grossart Investments. The stated aim was “to rescue a national institution for Scotland and to establish a high quality auction house with an international footprint from a base in Edinburgh”.
The company issued a statement last week reflecting his significant contribution: “In 1999 he shared our vision to create an international auction house based in Scotland and became founding chairman and one of the major shareholders. We have been fortunate to have his guidance which, over the last 23 years, has helped us grow to become one of the leading auction houses in the UK.”
