John Henry Lorimer's portrait of his younger brother shows him working in the Edinburgh office of Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, the architect of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. Robert Lorimer became one of the leading Scottish architects of the early twentieth century. Following the ideas of the Arts and Crafts movement, he was responsible for many restorations of Scottish castles and encouraging the revival of traditional skills. Important public commissions by Lorimer include the Thistle Chapel at St Giles Cathedral and the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh Castle.