Thomas Lindsay was born in Northumberland; the second son of William Lindsay of Alnwick. He specialised in painted views of the River Thames, particularly sunrises and sunsets and Welsh landscapes. He became a member of the New Water-Colour Society in 1833 and showed his work there and at the British Institution in London. He also held a private view for friends ‘of the pieces intended for the London exhibition’ before they were sent. Lindsay was a gifted musician and was closely associated with his local church, serving as Honorary Secretary of the Hay Auxiliary Bible Society. In 1850 he was aged 57 and living with his wife, Mary, and a house servant. He died in January 1861 at Dûlas Cottage, his home in Cusop, Brecknockshire, aged 67.