Memorial to Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, Old Royal Naval College

Robert Peel statue, Peel Pk, Bradford-800

William Behnes (1795 – 3 January 1864) was a British sculptor of the early 19th century.

Life

Born in London, Behnes was the son of a

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

ian piano-maker and his English wife. His brother was Henry Behnes, also a sculptor, albeit an inferior one. The family moved to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

and there William studied art at the Dublin Academy. After the family returned to London, Behnes continued his artistic training, studying 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 pur ...

School of Art from 1813, under the tutorship of Peter Francis Chenu. As a painter, he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1815 and won several medals during the ensuing years. In 1819 he won a

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

gold medal for inventing an instrument to assist sculpture work, having by this time begun to practice successfully as a sculptor. In 1837 Behnes was appointed 'Sculptor in Ordinary' to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

. His pupils included noted sculptors George Frederic Watts,

Thomas Woolner Thomas Woolner (17 December 1825 – 7 October 1892) was an English sculptor and poet who was one of the founder-members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was the only sculptor among the original members. After participating in the found ...

and

Henry Weekes Henry Weekes (14 January 1807 – 28 May 1877) was an English sculptor, best known for his portraiture. He was among the most successful British sculptors of the mid- Victorian period. Personal life Weekes was born at Canterbury, Kent, to Capo ...

, and naturalist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins. Despite huge success, being declared "superior to Chantrey" in bust portraiture, he could not manage his finances and was declared bankrupt in 1861. His final work, the statue of Sir Henry Havelock (1861) 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 comm ...

, has the unusual claim to fame of being the first known statue based purely upon a photograph of his subject. It is likely that he was an alcoholic and also a gambler, and this was worsened by bankruptcy. He moved to "miserable lodgings" in Charlotte Street. He was found lying unconscious in a gutter, with only three pence in his pocket, on New Years Day 1864 and died on 3 January in Middlesex Hospital. He was buried in an unmarked grave in

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

George Cruikshank George Cruikshank (27 September 1792 – 1 February 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reache ...

, who had known him, campaigned to raise money for a monument and to present a bronze bust of Behnes to the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

, but there was little progress and the campaign was abandoned.Dictionary of British Sculptors, 1660–1851, Rupert Gunnis In December 2016, a folio of 41 pages of Behnes' sketches (some double-sided) was sold at auction by Cuttlestones Auctioneers & Valuers at

Penkridge Penkridge ( ) is a village and civil parish in South Staffordshire District in Staffordshire, England. It is to the south of Stafford, north of Wolverhampton, west of Cannock and east of Telford. The nearby town of Brewood is also not far away ...

in Staffordshire, for £2,200. It includes sketches of the Duke of Newcastle, Sir Thomas Gresham, and Sir

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Excheque ...

Works

He produced many busts of children, reliefs and also some notable church monuments and statues, including ones of Dr William Babington in

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, 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 Major-General Sir

Henry Havelock Major-General Sir Henry Havelock (5 April 1795 – 24 November 1857) was a British general who is particularly associated with India and his recapture of Cawnpore during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (First War of Independence, Sepoy Mutiny). ...

(believed to be the first statue based on a photograph, two casts were made – one is today situated in

, London, the other in Mowbray Park,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

) and several of Sir

(including ones situated in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

, Peel Park in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, and at the Peel Centre in

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Gre ...

in north-west London). Other subjects included:

Thomas Arnold Thomas Arnold (13 June 1795 – 12 June 1842) was an English educator and historian. He was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement. As headmaster of Rugby School from 1828 to 1841, he introduced several reforms that were wide ...

, Sir

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

Benjamin West Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as '' The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the '' Treaty of Paris'', and '' Benjamin Franklin Drawin ...

and

. *Bust of Henry Earle, surgeon,

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word " hospita ...

, London (1817) *Monument to John Tunno,

St. John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...

Chapel (1819) *Bust of Dr William Lister

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

Governor of

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS ...

in London (1820) *Monument to

Joseph Nollekens Joseph Nollekens R.A. (11 August 1737 – 23 April 1823) was a sculptor from London generally considered to be the finest British sculptor of the late 18th century. Life Nollekens was born on 11 August 1737 at 28 Dean Street, Soho, London, ...

, Paddington Parish Church, London (1823) *Bust of Joseph Marryat, St George's, Grenada, West Indies (1824) *Bust of James Northcote (1825) *Bust of

Sir Isaac Coffin, 1st Baronet Admiral of the Blue Sir Isaac Coffin, 1st Baronet, (also Coffin-Greenly; 16 May 1759 – 23 July 1839), was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Cof ...

, Athenaeum, Boston, USA (1826) *Statue of the Earl of Egremont,

Petworth House Petworth House in the parish of Petworth, West Sussex, England, is a late 17th-century Grade I listed country house, rebuilt in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the design of the architect Anthony Sa ...

(1826) *Bust of

Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, dramatist and poet, who is best known for his novel '' The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1766), his pastoral poem '' The Deserted Village'' (1770), and his ...

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

(1827) *Wax bust of Princess Victoria (Later

) (using her actual hair) (1829) *Figures on the clock-tower at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

(1829) *Monument to Dr Andrew Bell,

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

(1832) *Monument to Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood,

(1832) *Monument to John Woodhouse,

Dean of Lichfield The Dean of Lichfield is the head (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the chapter of canons, the ruling body of Lichfield Cathedral. The dean and chapter are based at the ''Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and S ...

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

Parish Church (1833) *Monument to

Sir Henry Russell, 1st Baronet Sir Henry Russell (8 August 1751 – 18 January 1836) was a British lawyer. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1816, during the reign of George III. The Russell baronetcy of Swallowfield in Berkshire, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kin ...

, Swallowfield, Berkshire, (1836) *Bust of

Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 1st Baronet Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 1st Baronet, (9 June 178321 October 1862) was an English physiologist and surgeon who pioneered research into bone and joint disease. Biography Brodie was born in Winterslow, Wiltshire. He received his early ed ...

, Royal College of Surgeons, London (1836) *Statue of William Babington,

(1837) *Monument to William Praed, Tyringham Church (1837) *Bust of

(1837) *Monument to

Sir John St Aubyn, 5th Baronet Sir John St Aubyn, 5th Baronet (17 May 1758 – 10 August 1839), was a British Member of Parliament, High Sheriff of Cornwall and Grand Master of the Freemasons. Born in London, he succeeded to the baronetcy on 12 October 1772, at which point he i ...

, Crowan, Cornwall (1839) *Bust of Sir Thomas Hardy, naval hero, Greenwich Hospital Chapel (1839) *Statue of Baron Joy, Dublin (1840) *The mare's head "The Queen of Beauty" as ridden by Lord Seymour (1843) *Statue of Sir

John Thomas Jones Major General Sir John Thomas Jones, 1st Baronet (25 March 1783 – 26 February 1843) was a British officer in the Royal Engineers who played a leading engineering role in a number of European campaigns of the early nineteenth century. Jones was ...

(1843) *Statue of Sir Thomas Gresham, Royal Exchange, London (1845) *Statue of Sir William Follett,

, (1850) *Statue of

, Leeds (1852) *Statue of

Peel Park, Bradford Peel Park is a urban public park in the Bolton and Undercliffe area of Bradford, England, located about north-east of the city centre, and named after Sir Robert Peel (1788–1850). Peel Park was Bradford's first public park and is on the En ...

(1855) *Statue of

, Peel Centre, previously

Cheapside Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, which forms part of the A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St. Martin's Le Grand with Poultry. Near its eastern end at Bank junction, whe ...

and

Postman's Park Postman's Park is a public garden in central London, a short distance north of St Paul's Cathedral. Bordered by Little Britain, Aldersgate Street, St. Martin's Le Grand, King Edward Street, and the site of the former headquarters of the General ...

, Grade II listed, possible copy of the Bradford work (1855) *Monument to Mrs Elsworth,

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

(1858) *Statue of Sir

, (1861) (plus a copy in Sunderland)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Behnes, William 1795 births 1864 deaths 19th-century British sculptors 19th-century English male artists Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery English male sculptors English people of German descent Sculptors from London