Leigh Ashton (museum director)
# Leigh Ashton (museum director)

Sir Arthur Leigh Bolland Ashton FSA (1897–1983) was a British art historian and director of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

## Early life

Ashton was the son of the jurist A. J. Ashton KC, a court recorder in Manchester. He was educated at Winchester College and Balliol College, Oxford.

## Career

In 1945, he was appointed director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, taking over from Eric Maclagan.

Ashton retired in 1955, and was succeeded by Trenchard Cox.

## Personal life

In 1952, he married the fashion editor and academic Madge Garland, in a marriage of convenience. They divorced in 1962, and had no children.

