Arthur Acton Explained

Arthur Acton
Birth Date:1873
Nationality:British
Occupation:Architect, art dealer and collector
Spouse:Hortense Lenore Mitchell
Children:Sir Harold Acton
William Acton
Liana Beacci
Relatives:John J. Mitchell (father-in-law)

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]

Notes and References

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