Aitchison, George, jun.

Aitchison, George, jun. (1825–1910). British architect, the son of George Aitchison (1792–1861), architect, by whom he was trained, and whose partner he became in 1859. An expert in interior design, his finest work is the house he designed for Frederic, Baron Leighton of Stretton (1830–96), at Holland Park Road, Kensington, which includes the Arab Hall (added 1877–9, built to display the collection of glazed tiles Leighton had acquired during his visits to the East) and the artist's studio. Aitchison enjoyed a considerable reputation, being Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy (1887–1905) and President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (1896–9). He opposed too slavish a following of historical styles: his furniture designs were published in Gewerbehalle and in The Cabinet Maker and Art Furnisher (1884), and he brought out a new edition of James Ward's The Principles of Ornament in 1892.

Bibliography

Jervis (1984);
M. Richardson (1980);
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004)