William Mostyn-Owen

William "Willy" Mostyn-Owen was born on May 10, 1929, to Lt-Col Roger Arthur Mostyn-Owen (1888–1947) and Margaret Eva Dewhurst. The Mostyn-Owen family belonged to the military landed gentry of Woodhouse, Shropshire. He had three older brothers and a sister. All of his brothers died during World War II, and his father died when William was in his teens. As a result, he inherited the family estate of Woodhouse and the Dewhurst family's Aberuchill Castle in Perthshire at a young age.

Mostyn-Owen received his education at Eton College and subsequently attended Magdalene College, Cambridge. After completing his higher education, he worked at the Fogg Museum at Harvard University and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

During the 1950s, Mostyn-Owen spent six years collaborating closely with Bernard Berenson, a noted art expert. During this period, he served as Berenson's bibliographer and gained extensive knowledge of Italian Renaissance art. While in Florence, Italy, the British consul remarked on Mostyn-Owen's diplomatic skills, noting that his "charm and tact" were highly valued when interacting with prominent figures such as U.S. President Harry S. Truman and King Haakon VII of Norway.

Mostyn-Owen's career also included a significant tenure at Christie's, the London-based auction house. He joined Christie's in the 1960s and worked there for nearly three decades. He became a director of Christie's in 1968 and served as chairman of Christie's Education from 1979 to 1988.

In his personal life, Mostyn-Owen was married three times. His first marriage was to Gaia Servadio, an Italian writer, on September 28, 1960. They divorced in 1989. Together, they had three children: Owen, born in 1962; Allegra, born in 1964; and Orlando, born in 1973. During their marriage, from around 1968, they resided in a wing of Aberuchill Castle comprising approximately 23 rooms.

His second wife was Faith Clark. His third marriage was to Jane Martineau, an art historian, in 1992. His daughter Allegra became an art teacher and was married to the politician Boris Johnson. His son Orlando pursued a career as an artist and painter. William Mostyn-Owen passed away on May 2, 2011.