George F. Harding, Jr. (1968-1939) was born in Chicago. He was the son of George Franklin Harding, a well-known lawyer who worked with Abraham Lincoln. Harding Jr. grew up in a privileged environment and received a thorough education: he attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard University, where he also studied law like his father. He married twice and had two daughters, although he was widowed both times. Harding was a successful businessman and politician: he chaired the Chicago Real Estate Loan and Trust Company and was one of the largest landowners in the city. He also held important public offices as alderman, state senator and city comptroller. He had a passion for collecting from a young age, a passion he had developed through his father, who also bequeathed his collection to him. However, Harding increased it considerably, and in 1927 he built an extension to his house in the shape of a medieval castle, known as "Chicago's Treasure House". In 1930 he transformed this peculiar construction into a museum, however, after his death in 1939, the collection was moved several times until it finally ended up at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1983.