Alexander Constantine Ionides ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Ιωνίδης), also known as Konstantinos Ioannou or Iplixis (; 1 September 1810 – 10 November 1890) was a British art patron and collector, of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

ancestry.

Life

Alexander Constantine Iplixes was born in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

on 1 September 1810. His parents were Constantine Ioannes "Iplik(t)zis" Ioannou/Ionides (1775–1852) and his wife Mariora Ioannou-Sentoukakis (1784–1857). His father set up a London branch for his trading firm in . In 1827 Alexander came to London, finishing his education at

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

. He married Euterpe Sgouta (1816–1892) in Constantinople, before settling in Cheetham Hill, Manchester. They would have five children. He then founded his own textile and wheat trading-firm, Ionides and Company (he changed his surname from Ipliktzis to Ionides at this time), operating between London and the Near East and the Balkans. He soon began to patronise the arts around 1829, both in Britain (where his protégés included Edward Calvert and

George Frederic Watts George Frederic Watts (23 February 1817, in London – 1 July 1904) was a British painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolist movement. He said "I paint ideas, not things." Watts became famous in his lifetime for his allegorical work ...

, who became his friends) and in Greece (where he followed his father as a patron of the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

). In 1834 Ionides and his family moved to London, where they lived at 9

Finsbury Circus Finsbury Circus is a park in the Coleman Street Ward of the City of London, England. The 2 acre park is the largest public open space within the City's boundaries. It is not to be confused with Finsbury Square, just north of the City, or Finsb ...

from 1834 to 1839). In 1837 he became a naturalised British citizen. Afterwards they moved to

Tulse Hill Tulse Hill is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in South London that sits on Brockwell Park. It is approximately five miles from Charing Cross and is bordered by Brixton, Dulwich, Herne Hill, Streatham and West Norwood. History The ar ...

(1838–1864) and finally to 1

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that contains a street and public park of the same name. It has no official boundaries but is roughly bounded by Kensington High Street to the south, Holland Road ...

(1864 onwards), during which time began to gather an artistic

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

at his home. Acting as Greek consul-general in 1854–1866, he held directorships of the

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

(1855) and of many banks. His son Alexander introduced him in 1860 to artists whom he had met in Paris, such as

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

Edward Poynter Sir Edward John Poynter, 1st Baronet (20 March 183626 July 1919) was an English painter, designer, and draughtsman, who served as President of the Royal Academy. Life Poynter was the son of architect Ambrose Poynter. He was born in Paris, Fr ...

, Thomas Armstrong, and

George du Maurier George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch'' and a Gothic novel ''Trilby'', featuring the character Svengali. His son was the actor Sir Gerald d ...

; later

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

and

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman Hun ...

also joined Ionides's circle. He commissioned the designers

Philip Webb Philip Speakman Webb (12 January 1831 – 17 April 1915) was a British architect and designer sometimes called the Father of Arts and Crafts Architecture. His use of vernacular architecture demonstrated his commitment to "the art of common ...

and

Thomas Jeckyll Thomas Jeckyll (1827 Wymondham, Norfolk – 1881 Norwich) (baptised on 20 June 1827) was an English architect who excelled in the creation of metalwork and furniture strongly influenced by Japanese design, and is best known for his planning in 1 ...

to redecorate 1 Holland Park. In 1875, he finally moved to a house called " Windycroft" in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, leaving Alexander to complete the

Aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...

redecoration at 1 Holland Park by commissioning

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

and

Walter Crane Walter Crane (15 August 184514 March 1915) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and K ...

Children

Constantine Alexander Ionides Constantine Alexander Ionides (14 May 1833 in Manchester – 29 June 1900 in Brighton, el, Κωνσταντίνος Αλέξανδρος Ιωνίδης) was a British art patron and collector, of Greek ancestry. He was born in Britain on 14 Ma ...

(1833–1900), patron and collector * Aglaia Coronio (1834–1906), patron, collector, confidante of Morris and a friend of Rossetti * Luke Ionides (1837–1924), friend of Whistler, patron and collector, whose fourth son

Basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also kno ...

became an architect * Alexander (Aleco; 1840–1898), who joined with his father in collecting

Tanagra figurines The Tanagra figurines were a mold-cast type of Greek terracotta figurines produced from the later fourth century BC, named after the Boeotian town of Tanagra, where many were excavated and which has given its name to the whole class. However, they ...

and Greek vases * Chariclea Anthea Euterpe Dannreuther (1844–1923), married the musician

Edward Dannreuther Edward George Dannreuther (4 November 1844, Strasbourg – 12 February 1905, Hastings) was a German pianist and writer on music, resident from 1863 in England. His father had crossed the Atlantic, moving to Cincinnati, and there established a pia ...

In popular culture

* Ionides is one of the inspirations for the character Sir Lewis Cornelys in the 1894

novel ''

Trilby A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in Britain Roetzel, Bernhard (1999). ''Gentleman's Guide to Grooming and Style''. Barnes & Noble. and ...

''.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ionides 1810 births 1890 deaths British art collectors British people of Greek descent People from Cheetham Hill Constantinopolitan Greeks British art patrons Greek emigrants to the United Kingdom