Sir Arthur Leigh Bolland Ashton by Ray Strachey

Sir Arthur Leigh Bolland Ashton (1897–1983) was a British art historian and director of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

Early life

Ashton was the son of the jurist A. J. Ashton KC, a court recorder in Manchester. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

Career

In 1945, he was appointed director of the

, taking over from

Eric Maclagan Sir Eric Robert Dalrymple Maclagan (4 December 1879 – 14 September 1951) was a British museum director and art historian. Early years Born on 4 December 1879 in London, Maclagan was the only son of William Dalrymple Maclagan, Archbishop of Yo ...

. Ashton retired in 1955, and was succeeded by

Trenchard Cox Sir George Trenchard Cox (1905–1995) was a British museum director. Early years Cox was born on 31 July 1905 in London to barrister William Pallett Cox and Marion. He was educated at Eton College and then at King's College, Cambridge, where h ...

Personal life

In 1952, he married the fashion editor and academic

Madge Garland Madge Garland (née McHarg; 12 June 1898 – 15 July 1990) was an influential figure in the British fashion scene, who made her name as a fashion journalist and editor working for, among others, ''Vogue'' and ''Women's Wear Daily''. From journ ...

, in a

marriage of convenience A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than that of love and commitment. Instead, such a marriage is entered into for personal gain, or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as a political marriage. There are ...

. They divorced in 1962, and had no children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, Leigh 1897 births 1983 deaths Directors of the Victoria and Albert Museum Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford