William Acton
Portrait of Loelia, Duchess of Westminster
Oil on canvas
61 1/4 x 50 in (153 x 127 cm)
Philip Mould & Co.
For all available works visit philipmould.com This highly original portrait of Loelia, Duchess of Westminster was painted by William Acton, a talented yet little known artist best remembered for his...
For all available works visit philipmould.com
This highly original portrait of Loelia, Duchess of Westminster was painted by William Acton, a talented yet little known artist best remembered for his striking surrealist portraits of prominent society women.
William Acton was the son of art dealer and collector Arthur Acton (1873-1953) and his wife Hortense Lenore Mitchell (1871-1962). The latter’s father was the American financier John J. Mitchell. He also had a brother, Harold, who would later gain recognition as a scholar and writer. The Actons were raised by their parents at La Pietra, a villa outside Florence, where their neighbours included the Sitwell family, and Gerald Tyrwhitt-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners who was a friend of Salvador Dali. It was perhaps through Lord Berners that Acton was first introduced to Surrealism, which had a profound influence on his life and work.
Acton studied at Eton and was one of the founders of the Eton Society of Arts, alongside Anthony Powell who later found fame as a novelist. He then moved to Christ Church, Oxford and after college was part of circle of friends including Diana Mitford, John Betjeman, Evelyn Waugh and Randolph Churchill. Around this time, Acton sketched a series of portraits depicting the Mitford sisters, which were later turned into prints.
Although Acton’s life was tragically cut short in 1945, he nevertheless gained considerable exposure during his lifetime as a portrait painter. An article published in Life magazine in 1938 highlighted the recent fashion for surrealist portraiture and focussed specifically on Acton’s work and how it had, in turn, influenced the photography work of Angus McBean. The present portrait is illustrated on the first page of this article alongside similarly dreamlike portrait of the novelist Lady Eleanor Smith.
Loelia was the daughter of Sir Frederick Ponsonby, later 1st Baron Sysonby and Victoria Lily, Lady Sysonby, a celebrated author of cook books. Loelia was a starlet of her day and one of the so-called ‘Bright Young People’. In 1930 Loelia married Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster (already twice divorced) although the marriage was later dissolved in 1947. Loelia later married Sir Martin Lindsay, 1st Baronet in 1969.
This highly original portrait of Loelia, Duchess of Westminster was painted by William Acton, a talented yet little known artist best remembered for his striking surrealist portraits of prominent society women.
William Acton was the son of art dealer and collector Arthur Acton (1873-1953) and his wife Hortense Lenore Mitchell (1871-1962). The latter’s father was the American financier John J. Mitchell. He also had a brother, Harold, who would later gain recognition as a scholar and writer. The Actons were raised by their parents at La Pietra, a villa outside Florence, where their neighbours included the Sitwell family, and Gerald Tyrwhitt-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners who was a friend of Salvador Dali. It was perhaps through Lord Berners that Acton was first introduced to Surrealism, which had a profound influence on his life and work.
Acton studied at Eton and was one of the founders of the Eton Society of Arts, alongside Anthony Powell who later found fame as a novelist. He then moved to Christ Church, Oxford and after college was part of circle of friends including Diana Mitford, John Betjeman, Evelyn Waugh and Randolph Churchill. Around this time, Acton sketched a series of portraits depicting the Mitford sisters, which were later turned into prints.
Although Acton’s life was tragically cut short in 1945, he nevertheless gained considerable exposure during his lifetime as a portrait painter. An article published in Life magazine in 1938 highlighted the recent fashion for surrealist portraiture and focussed specifically on Acton’s work and how it had, in turn, influenced the photography work of Angus McBean. The present portrait is illustrated on the first page of this article alongside similarly dreamlike portrait of the novelist Lady Eleanor Smith.
Loelia was the daughter of Sir Frederick Ponsonby, later 1st Baron Sysonby and Victoria Lily, Lady Sysonby, a celebrated author of cook books. Loelia was a starlet of her day and one of the so-called ‘Bright Young People’. In 1930 Loelia married Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster (already twice divorced) although the marriage was later dissolved in 1947. Loelia later married Sir Martin Lindsay, 1st Baronet in 1969.
Provenance
Christie’s, London, 31 January 2018, lot 283 (‘Property of a Lady’);Philip Mould & Co., London.