Details

Name

Murray Adams-Acton

Brief Biography

1886–1971, English

Occupation

Antique dealer; designer; historian; author

Description

The son of sculptor John Adams-Acton and writer Marion Hamilton, his godfather was William Gladstone. Murray Adams-Acton was educated in London and abroad, and became an authority on art and architecture. A chairman of the Institute of British Decorators and a member of the committee of the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Cottages, he contributed to journals and published on architecture and furniture. He was elected a FRSA and FIBD, and donated works of art to English and Canadian Museums. He was a member of the Heraldic and Historical Institute of France, and of the Architectural Commission of the RSA. He was a partner in the art-dealing firm of Acton-Surgey.

Adams-Acton gained a commission in the Scots Guards in WWI, rose to the rank of Colonel, and rejoined the Army in 1940. While he was in Inverness he heard that his galleries in 3 Bruton Street were completely shattered. He recalled that ‘nothing was left, documents, tapestries etc., went up in smoke’ (letter from Adams-Acton to William Wells, 10 October 1958, Burrell Collection Archive).

After the end of the war he resumed his work as a dealer, his activities including acting as an agent for the National Magazine Company, handling the disposal of the contents of WR Hearst’s property, St Donat’s Castle in Glamorgan. It was a mammoth task – Adams-Acton described ‘huge piles of crates, temporarily roofed in around the castle, which have come from all parts of Europe, & much which was sent to America and then sent back here again!’ (letter from Adams-Acton to Dr Hannah, Glasgow Museums, 28 November 1952, Burrell Collection Archive). Between 1952 and 1954 he acquired a large number of architectural items for Sir William Burrell, including medieval stone arches, windows and doorways. These were to form key features in Barry Gasson’s design of the museum building.

Adams-Acton was a member of the Royal London Yacht Club, Pilgrims’, and St John’s Wood Art Club.