Adrian Alexander Ward-Jackson (6 June 1950 – 23 August 1991) was an English art dealer and consultant and arts administrator. He assisted the

Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California, United States, housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. It is operated by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the world's wealthies ...

and the collector

Barbara Piasecka Johnson Barbara "Basia" Piasecka Johnson (born Barbara Piasecka; February 25, 1937 – April 1, 2013) was a Polish humanitarian, philanthropist, art connoisseur and art collector, collector. Early life Piasecka Johnson was born in Staniewicze near Grodno ...

in their acquisition of art at auction. Ward-Jackson became a prominent figure in dance administration with the

Arts Council of Great Britain The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...

and the

Rambert Dance Company Rambert (known as Rambert Dance Company before 2014) is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it exerted a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingd ...

before his death from AIDS in 1991.

Life

Ward-Jackson was born on 6 June 1950 to the journalist and writer William Alexander Ward-Jackson and Catherine Elizabeth Ward-Jackson (née Trew). He attended

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

between 1964 and 1968. He was a member of the Turf Club. His flats at 120 Mount Street in Mayfair and 37

Great Cumberland Place Great Cumberland Place is a street in the City of Westminster, part of Greater London, England. There is also a hotel bearing the same name on the street. Description The street runs from Oxford Street at Marble Arch to George Street at Bryans ...

in Marylebone became the scenes of great dinner parties with notable guests from arts and politics. His obituary in ''The Times'' described the decor of his flat in Mount Street as being "filled with a profusion of colour and pattern, enlivened by Renaissance bronzes, wonderful objets d'art and extraordinary French engravings of portraits and landscapes. It offered an almost perfect model of how to live with and among art, had one the will and the money to do so". Ward-Jackson was appointed

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for services to the performing arts in the 1991 New Year Honours. He was a member of the jury that decided the 1991

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

Dance

Ward-Jackson was passionate about ballet; his obituary in the ''Daily Telegraph'' described him as working "tirelessly in the beleaguered world of dance". He hosted many fundraising events, with several attended by

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

, and

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. Ma ...

. He was the chairman of the dance panel of the

from 1990 to 1991. He was a governor of the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

and chairman of the

from 1985 to 1990. He also served as the director of the Royal Opera House Trust from 1987 to 1991 and as vice-chairman of the

Contemporary Arts Society The Contemporary Arts Society was founded by John Lyman in 1939 to promote modern art in Montreal, at a time when Canada was dominated by academic art. Lyman was the Society's first president. The additional officers were vice-president Paul-Émil ...

from 1988 to 1991. Ward-Jackson resigned from the Arts Council in May 1991 due to his worsening illness.

Peter Palumbo, Baron Palumbo Peter Garth Palumbo, Baron Palumbo (born 20 July 1935), is a British property developer and art collector, who served as the last Chairman of the Arts Council of Great Britain. Lord Palumbo sat as a Life Peer on the Conservative Party (UK), Co ...

said that Ward-Jackson would be mourned by the dance world as a "friend, a passionate advocate and a tireless worker" and that he bought a "a vitality, a purpose, a sense of mission, a commitment, an enthusiasm and a huge knowledge of the subject that can seldom if ever have been equalled".

Career

Antoine Caron - Dionysius the Areopagite Converting the Pagan Philosophers - 85

In 1971 Ward-Jackson was appointed a director of

Colnaghi's Colnaghi is an art dealership in St James's, central London, England, which is the oldest art museum, commercial art gallery in the world, having been established in 1760. Foundation The business that became the Colnaghi gallery was establis ...

Jacob Rothschild Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild (29 April 1936 – 26 February 2024), was a British hereditary peer, investment banker and member of the Rothschild banking family. Rothschild held important roles in business and Britis ...

, having previously been an expert in the drawings department of

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

auction house. He studied art in Vienna in the early 1970s as a research assistant at the drawing cabinet of the

Albertina The Albertina is a museum in the Innere Stadt (First District) of Vienna, Austria. It houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and approximately 1 million old master prints, as well ...

. He was the chairman and director of his own firm, Adrian Ward-Jackson Ltd, from 1975 until his death. In his career as an art dealer Ward-Jackson bought several notable pieces at auction. He frequently bought pieces on behalf of major institutions such as the

in California and major collectors such as the heiress

. Piasecka Johnson's obituary in ''

The Art Newspaper ''The Art Newspaper'' is a monthly print publication, with daily updates online, founded in 1990 and based in London and New York City. It covers news of the visual arts as they are affected by international politics and economics, developments i ...

'' described Ward-Jackson and fellow dealer Harry Bailey as being the "gatekeepers of iasecka Johnson'sexistence, selling to her, introducing approved dealers and fluffing up her social life". His obituary in ''The Times'' wrote of him that "Behind the scenes he did place major paintings and drawings coming out of private hands into the world's great museums; but his most characteristic accomplishment was the making of great private collections". In November 1976 at

he bought the drawings ''Sacra Conversazione'' by

Vittore Carpaccio Vittore Carpaccio ( , , ; – ) was an Italian painter of the Venetian School (art), Venetian school who studied under Gentile Bellini. Carpaccio was largely influenced by the style of the early Italian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina ...

for £78,000 and

Giovanni Francesco Maineri Giovanni Francesco Maineri or Gianfrancesco de' Maineri (active 1489–1506) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, active in Ferrara. Putatively born in Parma to a painter Pietro de Maineri. He worked in Ferrara for the ruling Este family. ...

's ''A Pagan Sacrifice'' for £48,000. He paid £35,000 for

François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...

's chalk study of Apollo in April 1978. In December 1986 he bought a 17th-century Baroque marble bust of the French general François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg for £423,000 (). At the sale of the contents of

Godmersham Park Godmersham Park is a Grade I listed house in Godmersham in the English county of Kent. The house is on the edge of the North Downs between Ashford and Canterbury. It has associations with the writer Jane Austen, and is depicted on the new Bank ...

in June 1983 Ward-Jackson paid £144,400 for a Gothic tapestry () and paid £15,120 () for a pair of 18th-century English tapestry cushions decorated with flowers and fruit. This established a new price record for a cushion. In May 1985 Ward-Jackson handled the

's purchase of

Antoine Caron Antoine Caron (1521–1599) was a French master glassmaker, illustrator, Northern Mannerist painter and a product of the School of Fontainebleau. He is one of the few French painters of his time who had a pronounced artistic personality. His wor ...

's ''Dionysius the Areopagite Converting the Pagan Philosophers'' from the collection of

Anthony Blunt Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), (formerly styled Sir Anthony Blunt from 1956 until November 1979), was a leading British art historian and a Soviet spy. Blunt was a professor of art history at the University ...

for £250,000. In November 1986 he again acted for them in their purchase for £2.5 million () of a page of notes by

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

from the collection of John R. Gaines of the Gaines-Burgers

dog food Dog food is specifically formulated food intended for consumption by dogs and other related canines. Dogs are considered to be omnivores with a carnivorous bias. They have the sharp, pointed teeth and shorter gastrointestinal tracts of carn ...

fortune. Ward-Jackson discovered

Lorenzo Lotto Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480 – 1556/57) was an Italian Renaissance painter, draughtsman, and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school, though much of his career was spent in other north Italian cities. He painted mainly altarpie ...

's ''Venus and Cupid'' in a Swiss collection which was subsequently purchased by the

Metropolitan Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the third-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. With 5.36 million v ...

in New York in July 1986 for $3 million (). Ward-Jackson also acquired pieces for the

Contemporary Art Society The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) is an independent charity that champions the collecting of outstanding contemporary art and craft for UK museum collections. Since its founding in 1910 the organisation has donated over 10,000 works to museum ...

, including work by Elizabeth Butterworth,

Tony Cragg Sir Anthony Douglas Cragg (born Liverpool 9 April 1949) is an Anglo-German sculptor, resident in Wuppertal, Germany since 1977. Early life and training Tony Cragg was born in Liverpool."Tony Cragg." ''Contemporary Artists''. Farmington Hills, ...

, Ian Davenport,

Howard Hodgkin Sir Gordon Howard Eliot Hodgkin (6 August 1932 – 9 March 2017) was a British painter and printmaker. His work is most often associated with abstraction. Early life Gordon Howard Eliot Hodgkin was born on 6 August 1932 in Hammersmith, Londo ...

and Shirazeh Houshiary. His personal art collection included pieces by the sculptors Veronica Ryan and

Magdalene Odundo Dame Magdalene Anyango Namakhiya Odundo (born 1950) is a Kenyan-born United Kingdom, British Studio pottery, studio potter, who now lives in Farnham, Surrey. Her work is in the collections of notable museums including the Art Institute of Chic ...

AIDS activism and death

Ward-Jackson and the socialite

Marguerite Littman Marguerite Lamkin Brown Harrity Littman (May 4, 1930October 16, 2020) was an American-British socialite and HIV/AIDS activist. As a Southern American accent coach she is known to have coached actors including Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman. L ...

started the AIDS Crisis Trust in 1986. Ward-Jackson donated a globe that had been dedicated to the naturalist

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...

for a charity auction at

in aid of the trust in June 1987. He also served as a patron of the

London Lighthouse London Lighthouse was a centre for people with HIV/AIDS. It was the world's largest centre for people living with HIV when it opened, and helped pioneer a patient-centred approach in HIV care, and housed a residential unit, as well as day-care and ...

hospice for AIDS patients. He died of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington on 23 August 1991.

, had visited Ward-Jackson five times in the three days before his death and was with him for six hours the day before he died. She had been introduced to him by Angela Serota, the former ballet dancer and the wife of

Nicholas Serota Sir Nicholas Andrew Serota (born 27 April 1946) is a British art historian and curator. He has been chairman of Arts Council England since February 2017. Serota was director of the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, then director of the Whitechap ...

, director of the Tate. Diana was on holiday with the royal family at

Balmoral Castle Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen. The estate and its original castle were bought ...

when she was informed that he was close to death—she drove through the night to be with him. A memorial service for Ward-Jackson was held at

St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, is an English Grade II* listed Anglican church of the Anglo-Catholic tradition located at 32a Wilton Place in Knightsbridge, London. History and architecture The church was founded in 1843, the first in London t ...

on 15 October 1991. It was attended by Diana and Princess Margaret. Lord Palumbo read from '' The Prophet'' by

Kahlil Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran (January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran, was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and Visual arts, visual artist; he was also considered a philosopher, although he himself reject ...

and Tessa Blackstone, Baroness Blackstone read from

T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

's ''

Burnt Norton ''Burnt Norton'' is the first poem of T. S. Eliot's ''Four Quartets''. He created it while working on his play ''Murder in the Cathedral'', and it was first published in his ''Collected Poems 1909–1935'' (1936). The poem's title refers to Bu ...

''. Only those people who visited him in hospital in his final months were permitted to attend. In her biography of Diana,

Tina Brown Christina Hambley Brown, Lady Evans (born in England on 21 November 1953), is a journalist, magazine editor, columnist, broadcaster, and author, with dual British/United States citizenship. She is the former editor in chief of '' Tatler'' (197 ...

described the funeral as being "populated with ''le tout'' London society like a scene from ''La Traviata''" and that his sick bed had "for a time, become the place to be" as he received friends from London's high society while "reclining on an Oscar Wildean sofa amid Renaissance bronzes and French engravings". The choreographer Richard Alston dedicated his piece ''Cat's Eye'' to Ward-Jackson. It was premiered by the

at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

in June 1992.

Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, poet, gardener, and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing ...

presented his 1993 painting ''Ataxia - Aids is Fun'' to the

Tate Galleries Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

in memory of Ward-Jackson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward-Jackson, Adrian 1991 deaths Ballet in the United Kingdom Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English art dealers P. & D. Colnaghi & Co. people People educated at Westminster School, London 1950 births AIDS-related deaths in England British gay men