Sir Geoffrey William Gerald Agnew (11 July 1908 – 22 November 1986) was an English art dealer, the chairman of the family firm of art dealers,

Thomas Agnew & Sons Thomas Agnew & Sons is a fine arts dealer in London that began life as part of in a print and publishing partnership with Vittore Zanetti in Manchester in 1817 which ended in 1835, when Agnew took full control of the company. The firm opened its Lo ...

, and the "dean of London art dealers".

Early life

Geoffrey Agnew was born on 11 July 1908, the son of Charles Gerald Agnew and his wife, Olive Mary Agnew (née Danks), and the grandson of Charles Morland Agnew. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

, followed by

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

Career

He joined Agnew's in 1931, rising to managing director in 1937. He was a Fellow of Eton College, a former chairman of the Society of London Art Dealers, president since 198l of the Artists' General Benevolent Institution and chairman of the Friends of the Courtauld Institute since 1970. He was the author of ''Agnew's 1817-1967,'' an informal history published in the firm's 175th anniversary year.

Personal life

He married Doreen Jessel in 1934, whom he met when she was one of the original students at the

Courtauld Institute The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

of Art History in London. They had three children: Julian (the last chairman of Agnew's before it was sold in 2013), Jonathan (banker & CEO of

Kleinwort Benson Kleinwort Benson was a leading investment bank that offered a wide range of financial services from offices throughout the United Kingdom and Channel Islands. Two families, the Kleinworts and the Bensons, founded two different merchant banks in ...

) & Jennifer (Mrs Lazell).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agnew, Geoffrey 1908 births 1986 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Geoffrey Art dealers from London Knights Bachelor 20th-century English businesspeople Deaths from cancer in England