The author surveys a Scottish ancestral house and its collections, tracing the family's long support of painters and poets and detailing the estate's designed landscapes, gardens, and architectural features created by a family member with classical influences. He describes the mansion's interiors and decorative schemes, notable ceiling paintings and the Ossian Hall, and the portraits, etchings, and other art objects assembled through generations. Observations combine art-historical commentary, biographies of associated artists, and close description of workmanship, layout, and the relationship between house, grounds, and collected works.