'Portrait of Lady Barbara Lowther on Horseback ' Sir Alfred James Munnings (English 1878-1959) Oil on canvas, circa around 1914, Private Collection.

Sir Alfred Munning's 'Portrait of Lady Barbara Lowther on Horseback ' was sold by Sotheby's to a mystery bidder in May 2008 for nearly £900,000. Lady Barbara, of Lowther nr Penrith ,was the great aunt of the present Earl of Lonsdale. She shocked the society world by running off and leaving her husband and their three-year old son in 1918. The picture was commissioned by Lady Barbara's husband , Boar War hero Lieutenant Colonel Archie Innes , shortly after their lavish wedding in 1914. But their fairytale marriage was actually a short-lived disaster , and in 1918, Lady Barbara 'ran off' leaving her husband and their three-year old son, Jimmy. She rarely saw her son. Some years later it is said that Jimmy Innes was visiting Newbury racecourse when he noticed a striking-looking woman , so he asked a friend : " Who is that extraordinary looking woman over there?" " Surely you know " replied the friend. " It's your mother "