Arthur Jeffress
| Arthur Tiden Jeffress | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Arthur Jeffress by Graham Sutherland copyright Southampton City Art Gallery
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| Born |
November 21, 1905 Middlesex, United Kingdom |
| Died | September 21, 1961 (aged 55) Paris, France |
| Education | Harrow and Cambridge |
| Known for | Influential gallery owner, collector and patron of the arts in post war Britain |
| Partner(s) | John Deakin (c 1930s) |
| Parent(s) | Albert & Stella Jeffress |
| Relatives | Joseph Randolph Jeffress (brother) |
Arthur Tilden Jeffress (born 1905, Brentford, Middlesex; died 1961) was colorful and influential gallery owner, collector, and patron of the arts in post war Britain. In the pre-war years he was one of Britain's Bright Young Things. He died in 1961 and left his art collection to the Tate and Southampton City Art Gallery.
Arthur was born on November 21, 1905. He was the second son of Stella and Albert Jeffress of Charlotte, Virginia, USA. His older brother, Joseph Randolph Jeffress, was born in 1900.
His father, Albert Jeffress, was in the tobacco business and in 1902 helped to form the British American Tobacco (BAT) company - a joint venture between the UK’s Imperial Tobacco and The American Tobacco Company. Albert became a director of the company at its formation and later become Deputy Chairman. BAT was headquartered in London and Albert moved his family to England so that he could help run the new company.
The Jeffress family lived at Kenton Grange, a 27-acre estate in Kenton, Middlesex. Arthur was educated at Harrow and later attended Cambridge.
In 1925, Albert unexpectedly died while returning from a business trip to China. He left the majority of his estate to his wife, two sons and his sister, Anita Jeffress Hill of Berkeley, California. The family continued to live at Kenton Grange, which remained the family home until well after WW2.
The brothers continued to thrive in pre-war Britain. They were especially interested in the glamorous cars of the day. Randolph became an amateur racer - having a Bugatti and a 1929 Supercharged Alfa Romeo. Arthur appeared to be more interested in the aesthetics of automotive design vs the raw horse power of racing engines. His first car was a Kissel and at the age of 28 he acquired a two-seater Rolls-Royce 20/25 convertible (GGA29).
The period between Arthur’s Cambridge days and WWII was a very formative and exciting time for him. Three highly influential (and overlapping) aspects of Arthur’s experience during this period are:
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