The Lindsays have always had an interest in the arts, and after the success of their Lancashire coal mining business, The Wigan Coal and Iron Company, Ivan Lindsay’s great grandfather, Alexander Lindsay, 25^th Earl of Crawford  started their art collection. He was mainly interested in Renaissance Italian artists such as Botticelli, Duccio and Donatello, which he acquired while living at his villa in Florence. As a patron of arts he contributed to a new marble-faced façade for the Florentine Duomo (the family coat of arms is implanted on the façade). He also created a family library back in Scotland — the Bibliotheca Lindesiana. 

Lindsay’s grandfather, David Lindsay, 28^th Earl of Crawford, was a trustee of the Tate Gallery, the National Gallery, the British Museum, and Chairman of the Trustees of the National Galleries of Scotland.