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Beckford, William

British, 1760 - 1844

Biography

William Beckford, the son of Maria Hamilton and William Beckford of Jamaica, inherited the family sugar can fortune upon his father's death in 1770. Beckford was a member of Parliament yet spent most of his life on the Continent or in isolation at his family estate Fonthill, in Wiltshire. He was a devoted art collector and built Fonthill Abbey, an extravagant Gothic Revival monument, to replace the earlier Palladian style house on the estate. Beckford married Lady Margaret Gordon, daughter of George, 5th Earl Aboyne and Lady Margaret Stewart. They had a daughter, Susan Euphemia [d. 1859] who married Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton [1767-1852] [Compiled from sources and references recorded on CMS]

Bibliography

1852
The Gentleman's Magazine, London, October 1852:424-425 [obituary of 10th Duke of Hamilton]
1995
Miles, Ellen G. American Paintings of the Eighteenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1995: 341

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