Arthur Acton

Arthur Acton
Born1873
Died1953 (aged 79–80)
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Architect, art dealer and collector
SpouseHortense Lenore Mitchell
ChildrenSir Harold Acton
William Acton
Liana Beacci
RelativesJohn J. Mitchell (father-in-law)
Villa La Pietra, Florence

Arthur Mario Acton (1873–1953) was a British architect, art dealer and collector.[1]

Early life

Arthur Acton was the illegitimate son of Eugene Arthur Roger Acton (1836–1895), counsellor to the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce.

Personal life

Acton married the wealthy Chicago heiress Hortense Lenore Mitchell (1871–1962), whose father, was William Hamilton Mitchell (1817-1910), her inheritance came through John J. Mitchell (1853–1927), who was president of the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank from 1880 to 1923, then president of its successor, the Illinois Merchants Trust Company, from 1923 until his death.[1][2] They lived at the Villa La Pietra, Florence.

Their elder son was the writer, scholar, and aesthete Sir Harold Mario Mitchell Acton (1904–1994).[2] Their younger son, William Hamilton Mitchell Acton (1906–1945), was an artist.

Acton also fathered a daughter, Liana Beacci (1917–2000), with his secretary Ersilia Beacci (died 1953).[2] Liana's daughter is Princess Dialta Alliata di Montereale.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Porcelli, Victor (24 August 2019). "Italian Princess Sues NYU For Billion-Dollar Art Collection". Washington Square News. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Bohlen, Celestine (9 June 1996). "A Tale of Love, Art and Money;A Collector, His Secretary, Their Children, and More". New York Times. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  3. ^ Hornall, Thomas; Allen, Nick (27 July 2019). "Italian princesses's claim for share of British art collector's £800m fortune backed by DNA". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 June 2021.