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Sir William Hamo Thornycroft (9 March 185018 December 1925) was an English sculptor, responsible for some of London's best-known statues, including the statue of Oliver Cromwell outside the Palace of Westminster. He was a keen student of classical sculpture and was one of the youngest artists to be elected to the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purp ...
, in 1882, the same year the bronze cast of ''Teucer'' was purchased for the British nation under the auspices of the Chantrey Bequest. He was a leading figure in the establishment of the
New Sculpture New Sculpture was a movement in late 19th-century British sculpture with an emphasis on naturalistic poses and spiritual subjects. The movement was characterised by the production of free-standing statues and statuettes of 'ideal' figures from poe ...
movement, which provided a transition between the neoclassical styles of the 19th century and later
modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
developments.


Biography


Early life and education

Hamo Thornycroft was born in London into the Thornycroft family of sculptors. Both his parents,
Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
and
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also call ...
, were distinguished sculptors. As a young child, Hamo was sent to live with an uncle on a farm in Cheshire until, aged nine, he began studying at the Modern Free Grammar School in
Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its eas ...
, before in 1863 returning to London as a pupil at the
University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_he ...
. He subsequently, from 1869, studied at the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purp ...
, where his primary influence was the painter-sculptor
Frederic Leighton Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classical subje ...
. While a student, Thornycroft assisted his father, Thomas, on the monumental sculptural group '' Boadicea and Her Daughters'', later installed beside Westminster Bridge in London. At the Royal Academy Schools, Hamo Thornycroft won two medals and obtained his first paid commission for a work, a bust of a Dr. Sharpey. In 1871, Thornycroft visited Italy and Paris and assisted his parents in creating the Poets' Fountain for
Park Lane Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park to the west from Ma ...
in London, which was subsequently destroyed in the Second World War, for which he modelled several figures of poets in marble and bronze. During the first half of the 1870s he exhibited works on a regular basis at the Royal Academy, showing ''Fame'', the Sharpey bust, a bust of Mrs Mordaunt and a model for an equestrian statue of Lord Mayo. In 1876 Thornycroft won the Gold Medal of the Royal Academy with the statue ''Warrior Bearing a Wounded Youth''.


Early career

Thornycroft created a series of statues in the ideal genre in the late 1870s and early 1880s that sought to reanimate the format of the classical statue. These included ''
Lot's Wife In the Bible, Lot's wife is a figure first mentioned in . The Book of Genesis describes how she became a pillar of salt after she looked back at Sodom. She is not named in the Bible but is called "Ado" or "Edith" in some Jewish traditions. She ...
'' (1878) and ''
Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified with Sel ...
and her Hound'' (1880 plaster, 1882 marble). In 1880 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy, and produced the Homeric bowman ''
Teucer In Greek mythology, Teucer (), also Teucrus, Teucros or Teucris ( grc, Τεῦκρος, Teûkros), was the son of King Telamon of Salamis Island and his second wife Hesione, daughter of King Laomedon of Troy. He fought alongside his half-brot ...
'' (1881 plaster, 1882 bronze), and the ''Mower'' (1884 plaster, 1894 bronze), arguably the first life-size freestanding statue of a contemporary labourer in 19th-century sculpture. Both ''Artemis and her Hound'' and ''Teucer'' combined classical compositions with a increased sense of naturalism to imply movement and energy. A companion piece to the ''Mower'', the ''Sower'', was exhibited in 1886 at the Royal Academy. When, in 1894, the critic
Edmund Gosse Sir Edmund William Gosse (; 21 September 184916 May 1928) was an English poet, author and critic. He was strictly brought up in a small Protestant sect, the Plymouth Brethren, but broke away sharply from that faith. His account of his childhood ...
coined the term "The
New Sculpture New Sculpture was a movement in late 19th-century British sculpture with an emphasis on naturalistic poses and spiritual subjects. The movement was characterised by the production of free-standing statues and statuettes of 'ideal' figures from poe ...
", he formulated its early principles from Thornycroft's work. After 1884, Thornycroft's reputation was secure and he won commissions for a number of major monuments, most notably the innovative '' General Gordon'' in
Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comme ...
and since moved to Victoria Embankment Gardens. Other significant works he created included an effigy of
Harvey Goodwin Harvey Goodwin (9 October 1818 – 25 November 1891) was an English academic and Anglican clergyman, Bishop of Carlisle from 1869 until his death. Life Born at King's Lynn, he was a son of Charles Goodwin, a solicitor there; his mother was Franc ...
, Bishop of Carlisle (1895;
Carlisle Cathedral Carlisle Cathedral is a grade-I listed Anglican cathedral in the city of Carlisle, Cumbria, England. It was founded as an Augustinian priory and became a cathedral in 1133. It is also the seat of the Bishop of Carlisle.Tim Tatton-Brown and Jo ...
), and the statues of
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three ...
(Westminster), Dean Colet (a bronze group, early Italianate in feeling, outside St Paul's School, formerly in Hammersmith and now in Barnes, London),
Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who b ...
(Winchester), the Gladstone Memorial (in the
Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa *Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street, ...
, London) and Mandell Creighton, Bishop of London (bronze, erected in
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a G ...
). Other significant memorials were built in several cities then in the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts ...
.


Architectural work

The
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is a professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports chartered accountants and students around the world. As of July 2022, it has over 198,000 members ...
(ICAEW) Council commissioned Thornycroft to produce a detailed sculpted frieze for their headquarters at Chartered Accountants' Hall for a cost of £3,000. Thornycroft's frieze, carved between 1889 and 1893, includes a series of figures representing Arts, Sciences, Crafts, Education, Commerce, Manufacture, Agriculture, Mining, Railways, Shipping, India, the Colonies, and Building. The figure of the architect is based on the Hall's architect, John Belcher, and the sculptor on Thornycroft himself. The figure of the solicitor is H. Markby of Markby, Stewart & Co., who acted for ICAEW in its early years.


Later works

Thornycroft continued to be a central member of the sculptural establishment and the Royal Academy into the 20th century. He was awarded the medal of honour at the 1900 Paris Exhibition, and was
knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
in 1917. In 1901 he began a series of small bronze statuettes for the home market while continuing to work on large commissions. His single largest work, the monument to
Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative Party (UK) ...
, was unveiled in Kolkata in 1913. Thornycroft exhibited ''The Kiss'', a large ideal pieces he had worked on for three years, at the Royal Academy in 1916, and received a standing ovation from his fellow artists when it was unveiled. He was awarded the first gold medal bestowed by the
Royal Society of British Sculptors The Royal Society of Sculptors is a British charity established in 1905 which promotes excellence in the art and practice of sculpture. Its headquarters are a centre for contemporary sculpture on Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London. ...
in 1924, although he had previously, in 1908, declined the offer of the presidency of that body. Thornycroft's last major work was the tomb effigy of Bishop Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs which was shown at the Royal Academy in 1925 and subsequently installed in
Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The c ...
. He became increasingly resistant to new developments in sculpture, although his work of the early 1880s helped to catalyse sculpture in the United Kingdom towards those new directions. In sum, he provided an important transition between the neoclassical and academic styles of the 19th century and its fin-de-siècle and
modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
departures. A
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
commemorates Thornycroft at 2b Melbury Road, Kensington, his studio designed by his lifelong friend the architect John Belcher, c. 1892.


Family

In addition to his parents, Thornycroft's grandfather John Francis was also a distinguished sculptor. His brother, Sir John Isaac Thornycroft, became a successful naval engineer; their sister, Theresa, was the mother of the poet
Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...
; Theresa and sisters Alyce and Helen Thornycroft were artists. In 1884, Hamo married Agatha Cox, who was fourteen years his junior. At a dinner in 1889, Agatha was introduced to
Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...
, who later described her as "the most beautiful woman in England" and admitted that she was one of the models for the title character in his novel '' Tess of the D'Urbervilles''. Agatha and her husband were interested in the concept of " artistic dress", and a dress worn by her (presumed to be her wedding dress) is held in the costume collection of the
Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
, donated by their daughter, Mary Elfrida Thornycroft, who was also his biographer.


Selected public works


1878 to 1889


1890 to 1899


1900 to 1909


1910 to 1925


Other works

* Lord Mayo, 1876,
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...
, India, bronze equestrian statue, relocated to
Barrackpore Barrackpore (also known as Barrackpur) is a city and a municipality of urban Kolkata of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (K ...
*
Thomas Clarkson Thomas Clarkson (28 March 1760 – 26 September 1846) was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade (also known ...
, 1877, St Mary's Church,
Playford, Suffolk Playford is a small village in Suffolk, England, on the outskirts of Ipswich. It has about 215 residents in 90 households. The name comes from the Old English '' plega'' meaning play, sport; used of a place for games, or a courtship or mating-pl ...
, memorial relief in marble *
Thomas Gray Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his '' Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,'' published in 1751. G ...
, 1885, Chapel of
Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...
, marble bust and bronze relief * Sir John Goss, 1886,
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a G ...
, marble panel within a larger monument by John Belcher * Henry Bradshaw, 1887,
Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th V ...
, Cambridge, marble bust * General Gordon, 1889, Melbourne, Australia, bronze statue on pedestal * George Leveson-Gower, exhibited 1895, unveiled 1896, Central Lobby, Houses of Parliament, marble statue * Marble statue of Sir
Steuart Bayley Sir Steuart Colvin Bayley (26 November 1836 – 3 June 1925) was a British civil servant and Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal from 1887 to 1890. Early life He was the son of William Butterworth Bayley, who rose to be acting Governor-General of ...
, completed 1894, erected 1896 Kolkata, located in Dalhousie Square, Kolkata until the 1950s, current location unknown * Bishop
Harvey Goodwin Harvey Goodwin (9 October 1818 – 25 November 1891) was an English academic and Anglican clergyman, Bishop of Carlisle from 1869 until his death. Life Born at King's Lynn, he was a son of Charles Goodwin, a solicitor there; his mother was Franc ...
, 1895,
Carlisle Cathedral Carlisle Cathedral is a grade-I listed Anglican cathedral in the city of Carlisle, Cumbria, England. It was founded as an Augustinian priory and became a cathedral in 1133. It is also the seat of the Bishop of Carlisle.Tim Tatton-Brown and Jo ...
, bronze effigy with figures * James Timmins Chance, 1897, West Smethwick Park,
Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire. In 2019, the ward of Smethwick had an estimated population of 15,246, while the wider bui ...
, bronze bust * Boer War Memorial, 1905, Durban, bronze figure of ''Peace Descending'' on pedestal with two figures of lions and four reliefs of military scenes * Marble seated statue of Queen Victoria, erected Ajodhya, India, 1908, moved to the
State Museum Lucknow State Museum, Lucknow is a prominent museum located in the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, India. The museum is currently located in the Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Gardens, Banarasi Bagh, Lucknow. The museum was established in 1863 from t ...
during 1981-82 A copy of this statue, also in marble, was erected at
Qaisar Bagh Qaisar ( ar, قيصر) is the Arabic version of the name Caesar and it is used as a given name in Arabia. The Roman and later Byzantine emperors were called ''Qaisar-e-Rum'' (Caesar of Rome) by the Arabs and Persians. The Ottoman Sultans also t ...
in Lucknow and is now in the same museum * Bronze bust of Bishop Mandell Creighton, 1909,
Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite ...
, London *
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Quee ...
as the Prince of Wales, 1911, Kolkata, marble statue *
Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative Party (UK) ...
, 1912, approach to the grounds of the
Victoria Memorial, Kolkata The Victoria Memorial is a large marble building on the Maidan in Central Kolkata, built between 1906 and 1921. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria, Empress of India from 1876 to 1901. The largest monument to a monarch anywhere ...
, bronze statue on Portland stone pedestal with four supporting figures and four reliefs, partly dismantled with the figure of Curzon relocated to
Barrackpore Barrackpore (also known as Barrackpur) is a city and a municipality of urban Kolkata of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (K ...
. The four figures representing ''Famine Relief'', ''Agriculture'', ''Commerce'' and ''Peace'' remain in their original location as do the four relief panels * Bust of
Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...
, 1915, National Portrait Gallery, London *
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...
, 1917, Frere Park, Karachi, marble statue on pedestal with bronze groups, representing ''Britannia'' and ''Peace'', and statues of a British soldier and of
Khudadad Khan Subedar Khudadad Khan, VC (20 October 1888 – 8 March 1971) was a Pakistani and the recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest military award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces. During ...
, VC, at base. Now damaged and dismantled as an assembly with the remains in the
Mohatta Palace The Mohatta Palace ( ur, ) is a museum located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Designed by ''Muhammad komail Hussain'', the palace was built in 1927 in the posh seaside locale of Clifton as the summer home of Shivratan Mohatta, a Hindu Marwari bus ...
in Karachi.


Gallery

Image:Hamo Thornycroft 001.jpg, Hamo Thornycroft, by Maull and Fox, c. 1880 Image:William Hamo Thornycroft, Vanity Fair, 1892-02-20.jpg, Caricature by Spy for '' Vanity Fair'' magazine, 1892


Writings

*
Lecture to the Sculpture Students of the Royal Academy of Art, 1885
reprinted in the Journal of the Walpole Society, vol. 69 (2007): 211–26.


References


Further reading

* * *Beattie, Susan. ''The New Sculpture.'' New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983. *Friedman, Terry, ed. ''The Alliance of Sculpture and Architecture.'' Leeds: Henry Moore Institute, 1993. *Getsy, David,
The Problem of Realism in Hamo Thornycroft's 1885 Royal Academy Lecture
" ''The Walpole Society'' 69 (2007): 211–25. *Gosse, Edmund. "Our Living Artists: Hamo Thornycroft, A.R.A." ''Magazine of Art'', 1881, pp. 328–32. * Read, Benedict. ''Victorian Sculpture.'' New Haven: Yale University Press, 1982. *White, Adam. ''Hamo Thornycroft and the Martyr General.'' Leeds: Henry Moore Institute, 1991.


External links

*
Papers of the Thornycroft Family, in the Archive of Sculptors Papers at the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds

Thornycroft works in the Tate Collection, London


* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thornycroft, Hamo 1850 births 1925 deaths 20th-century British sculptors 19th-century British sculptors English male sculptors People of the Victorian era British architectural sculptors Royal Academicians Sculptors from London Knights Bachelor People educated at University College School Hamo Artists' Rifles soldiers Sibling artists