Pictured here is Agnes and Elizabeth Bannatyne of Milheugh Estate, Blantyre. The lady without the necklace is Agnes Bannatyne who was painted in 1860 by the artist John Graham Gilbert. The same artist also painted her sister, Elizabeth, slightly earlier in the 1850’s, pictured here as the lady with the necklace. Both paintings were gifted to Glasgow Museums in 1962 by Mrs Helen Percy.
Agnes and Elizabeth were the daughters of Margaret Millar and Andrew Bannatyne, the owners of Milheugh Estate from 1835 to 1879 when Andrew died. Whilst the “girls” were left considerable portions of the estate, the property itself and much of the land passed to the couple’s son Colonel John Millar Bannatyne. Judging from the finery of these portraits, the family would have been considerably wealthy, to be dressed like this, and to have commissioned the paintings themselves.
Thank you to Marel Adam for taking time to scan and send these in to me.