Thomas Lawrie

Thomas Lawrie was a painter and paperhanger. Before 1850, he had opened Thomas Lawrie & Son at 126 Union Street in Glasgow, Scotland. By 1870, the business had moved to 85 Vincent Street and sold fine art, especially Old Master and Romantic works, as well as antiques, furniture, and decorative objects. Lawrie opened his London gallery Lawrie & Co. in 1892. By 1893 the gallery was situated in 15 Old Bond Street. The opening exhibition on Bond Street featured pieces by Diego Velázquez, George Romney, Thomas Gainsborough, John Constable, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, and Jean-François Millet. The gallery prospered and by the twentieth century, Lawrie & Co. supplied virtually all Dutch masterworks entering the American market. Later on the  gallery moved to 159 New Bond Street. In October 1904, Lawrie & Co. closed its two offices, at 159 New Bond Street, London and 85 St Vincent Street Glasgow.