(1833 - 1910)
John Adams-Acton was born in Middlesex, the son of artist William Adams. He added Acton to his surname to avoid confusion with other artists named John Adams. He trained under Timothy Butler and Matthew Noble. In 1853, he entered the Royal Academy Schools, winning the Academy’s travelling studentship in 1858 and relocating to Rome. Acton remained in Rome until 1865 and there met John Gibson. In 1875 he married Marion Hamilton, a novelist who wrote under the name Jeanie Hering. After spending eight months in India, the couple settled in London. They had five children and lived on Marylebone Road from 1880, before building a house and studio in St John’s Wood. Acton died at the age of 79, at the family’s holiday home on the Isle of Arran.
