John Adams-Acton
Other names: John Adams, John Adams Acton, J. A. Acton
Born 11 December 1830
Died 28 October 1910
Active: 1865 - 1900
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor
Born at Acton Hill, Middlesex. He was the son of the artist William Adams and his sister, Clarissa also became an artist. Between 1853-8 attended the Royal Academy Schools. In 1858 he won a travelling scholarship and went to Rome where he stayed until 1865. In 1869 he added Acton to his surname to avoid confusion with other artists called John Adams. In 1875 he married Marion Hamilton, the adopted daughter of the painter George Edwards Hering and a novelist writing under the name of Jeanie Hering. Her papers later formed the basis of an account of John Adams-Acton's career and their family life, which was written by A.M.W. Stirling. (A.M.W. Stirling, 'Victorian Sidelights', Benn, London, 1954). John and Marion's first child, (John) Harold A. Acton was born in Bombay, India c.1877, it is possible that Adams-Acton was abroad executing a commission.
From 1880 the family lived at 103 Marylebone Road, his studio being located in Salisbury Mews, until he could find a freehold with sufficient land to build a large studio adjacent to his house. This he found at 8 Langford Place where he lived and worked from 1882 to 1906; he then moved to 17 Abbey Road for the last years of his working life. Adams-Acton and his family spent the summers at his wife's home Brodick on the Isle of Arran. He died whilst they were staying there in 1910.
His commissions include: the monument to Bishop Waldegrave, Carlisle Cathedral (1869); the Cruikshank memorial, St Paul's Cathedral, London (c.1871); a colossal statue of Titus Salt, Bradford (1874); the Wesley memorial, Westminster Abbey (c.1875); and the memorial to Cardinal Manning, Westminster Cathedral (1908); statues of Queen Victoria for Kingston, Jamaica, and the Bahamas; and of W.E. Gladstone for Liverpool and Blackburn. Among his sitters for portraits were: Lord Shaftesbury, Lord Roberts, Sir Edwin Landseer, Lord Brougham, John Bright, Charles Dickens, Charles Spurgeon, Earl Russell, Archbishop Manning, Disraeli, and Pope Leo XIII. Edward VII, as prince of Wales, also sat to him on many occasions.
Biography and list of works compiled by Fryer/Macphee (2004). Philip Ward-Jackson submitted information about A.M.W. Stirling's 'Victorian Sidelights'.
Works
Dates are usually the year a work was exhibited so may differ from date of production.
New entries have been made each time a work was exhibited. Click here for more information.
Portrait Bust of Sir Edward Baines, KNT
Rt Hon. W. E. Gladstone, MP
1880 (Presumed)
Stella
1880 (Presumed)
Curiosity
1880 (Presumed)
£210
Cat. No. 732, p. 63
Jephtha's Daughter
1880 (Presumed)
H.M. The Queen
1881 (Presumed)
H.R.H. The Prince of Wales
1881 (Presumed)
The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, MP
1881 (Presumed)
The Rt Hon. John Bright, MP
1881 (Presumed)
The late Thomas Faed, Esq., RA
1901
Miss W. Glen Coats
1901
Locations
Address Brodick Isle of Arran | View on map
This was his wife's family home, the Adams-Actons spent their summers here and he died at this address in 1910
Address 116 Via Margretta Rome | View on map
1860 - 1865
Previous addresses included: 29 Trevor Square, London 1858; 35 Vicolo de Greci, Rome, 1859,
Address Margutta House 103 Marylebone Road London | View on map
1869 (Circa) - 1888 (Circa)
Address 8 Langford Place London NW | View on map
1889 (Circa) - 1900 (Circa)
Born at Acton Hill London | View on map
and using this address until 1856
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at Autumn Exhibition of Modern Pictures in Oil and Water Colour (Nottingham Castle Museum), 1881
'H.R.H. The Prince of Wales'
Exhibited at Yorkshire Fine Art Society, Autumn Exhibition, 1880
'Jephtha's Daughter'
Exhibited at Leeds City Art Gallery, The Spring Exhibition, 1892
Multiple works
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The Eighty-Seventh, 1855
Exhibited 'Medallion, W. Davis, Esq.'
Exhibited at International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures, Dublin, 1865
p. 104, no. 82. 'Bust of Signor Lawson, in marble'.
Exhibited at International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures, Dublin, 1865
1865
p. 106, no. 108. 'Bust of General Napier' - Marble.
Exhibited at International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures, Dublin, 1865
p. 108, no. 145. 'Bust of Charles Makins, Esq.' - Marble.
Offered for sale 105-0-0.
p. 108, nos. 152 and 154. 'Busts of Roman Boy and Girl' - marble.
Offered for sale 50-0-0.
p.114, no. 265. 'Ruth' - statuette in marble. [Exhibited in ] Upper Central Hall.
Offered for sale 126-0-0.
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1854 - 1892
Exhibited 39 times (average of 3-4 works per show).
Exhibited at Liverpool autumn exhibition of modern pictures: the ninth (Liverpool), 1879
1879
The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, MP (cat. no. 1321, marble bust, not for sale).
Exhibited at International Exhibition, Glasgow, 1901
1901
Personal and Professional Connections
Nominated by John Prescott Knight
17 December 1872
For RA; unsuccessful.
Seconded by Edward Armitage
17 December 1872
Descriptions of Practice
Listed under Sculptors Post Office London Directory, 1890 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1890
p.1997
Listed under Sculptors Post Office London Directory, 1900 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1900
p.2370
Sources
Catalogue of the Autumn Exhibition (Yorkshire Fine Art Society, Leeds) 1880
1880
Cat. Nos. 518, 520, 532, pp. 55, 56, i
Catalogue of the First Spring Exhibition 1880
1880
Cat. Nos. 725, 731, 732, 738, pp. 63, 64, i
Catalogue of the Spring Exhibition, The City Art Gallery, Leeds 1892
1892
Cat. Nos. 392, 516, pp. 41, 88
International Exhibition Glasgow, 1901,
Official Catalogue of the Fine Art Section
1901
Liverpool autumn exhibition of modern pictures, 1879 Walker Art Gallery
1879
pp. 79-82.
Official Catalogue of Dublin International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures 1865
1865
p. 108, no. 145. 'Bust of Charles Makins, Esq.' - Marble.
Offered for sale 105-0-0.
p. 108, nos. 152 and 154. 'Busts of Roman Boy and Girl' - marble.
Offered for sale 50-0-0.
p. 114, no. 265. 'Ruth' - statuette in marble. [Exhibited in ] Upper Central Hall.
Offered for sale 126-0-0.
Official Catalogue of Dublin International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures 1865
1865
p. 106, no. 108. 'Bust of General Napier' - Marble.
Official Catalogue of Dublin International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures 1865
1865
p. 104, no. 82. 'Bust of Signor Lawson, in marble'.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
2004
S. E. Fryer, 'Acton, John Adams- (1830-1910)', rev. Anne MacPhee, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/30337, accessed 26 Feb 2009]
Post Office London Directory, 1890 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1890
p.1997
Post Office London Directory, 1900 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1900
p.2370
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, 1866-1906
1906
See entries for 1873.
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, 1866-1906
1906
See entries for 1873.
The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The Eighty-Seventh, 1855
1855
p.56 (1855)
The Royal Academy of Arts: a complete dictionary of contributors and their work from its foundation in 1769 to 1904. Vol. 1: Abbayne to Carrington
1905
pp. 8-9, listed as Adams, John with note that he became Adams-Acton in 1869
Citing this record
'John Adams-Acton', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib7_1207138470, accessed 05 Jun 2023]
