Joseph Wilton (16 July 1722 – 25 November 1803) was an English sculptor. He was one of the founding members of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in 1768, and the academy's third keeper. His works are particularly numerous memorialising the famous Britons in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

Life

He was born the son of an ornamental plasterer in the

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

area of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where his father had sculpted the ceilings of the Foundling Hospital. His father wished that Joseph should become a civil engineer but instead Joseph strongly desired to be a sculptor. Wilton initially trained under Laurent Delvaux at

Nivelles Nivelles (; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux. The Nivelles arrondissement ...

, in present-day Belgium. In 1744 he left Nivelles and went to the Academy in Paris to study under Jean-Baptiste Pigalle. In 1752 he went to Italy with his sculptor friend

Louis-François Roubiliac Louis-François Roubiliac (or Roubilliac, or Roubillac) (31 August 1702 – 11 January 1762) was a French sculpture, sculptor who worked in England. One of the four most prominent sculptors in London working in the rococo style, he was described ...

to learn to sculpt in marble, and stayed for seven years, living first in Rome and then in Florence.Whinney 1971, p. 97. Whilst in Rome he met and befriended his first patron, William Locke of Norbury, who thereafter accompanied Wilton on his tour of Italy. Like many other artists of the day, he studied antiquities, and made numerous plaster casts and marble copies of classic works – many of these later formed the collection of

Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, 3rd Duke of Lennox, 3rd Duke of Aubigny, (22 February 1735 – 29 December 1806), styled Earl of March until 1750, of Goodwood House in Sussex and of Richmond ...

at Richmond House in west London. A marble bust of the physician and scholar Antonio Cocchi, carved by Wilton in 1755, his last year in Italy, is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Influenced by Wilton's study of antique busts, it was considered by

Margaret Whinney Margaret Dickens Whinney (4 February 1897 – 1975) was a British art historian who taught at the Courtauld Institute of Art. Her published works included books on British sculpture and architecture. Life Whinney was the daughter of Thomas Bos ...

to be one of Wilton's most distinguished works. While in Florence he made the acquaintance of the Florentine painter

Giovanni Battista Cipriani Giovanni Battista Cipriani (1727 – 14 December 1785) was an Italian painter and engraver, who lived in England from 1755. He is also called Giuseppe Cipriani by some authors. Much of his work consisted of designs for prints, many of whic ...

. When Wilton and the architect William Chambers returned to England, in August 1755, Cipriani went with them. Once back in London, Wilton was named co-director of Lennox's Richmond House gallery, and established a workshop. He built up a considerable practice, making busts and monuments, including the memorial to

James Wolfe Major-general James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 1759) was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the French at the Battle of the Plains of ...

in Westminster Abbey. He made at least two marble busts of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

, which he showed at the Society of Artists, in 1761 and 1761, basing the likeness on a cast of Cromwell's face. One marble version, and the terracotta model for it, is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. In 1761, he was first commissioned to produce a statue of King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

. Similar commissions followed, including one in 1766 from New York City. This massive statue portrayed the king on horseback in Roman garb, and was cast in lead and gilded before being shipped to

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and erected at

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

, near the tip of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

in August 1770. It did not last long, being torn down by patriots in July 1776. Wilton's other works include many notable busts, monuments (e.g.

Stephen Hales Stephen Hales (17 September 16774 January 1761) was an English clergyman who made major contributions to a range of scientific fields including botany, pneumatic chemistry and physiology. He was the first person to measure blood pressure. He al ...

' memorial in

, London) and other carvings including fireplaces and tables. In 1768, when Wilton was perhaps at the peak of his powers, he was elected a founder member of the Royal Academy. However, that year also saw him inherit his father's fortune and the new wealth diverted him away from sculpture to a life of dissolution. In 1786 he was forced to sell most of his possessions and in 1793 he was officially declared bankrupt. In 1790 he was appointed Keeper of the Royal Academy, a post he kept until his death in 1803. He was buried at St Mary the Virgin, Wanstead in east London.

Principal works

*Monument to Admiral

Samuel Graves Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Samuel Graves (17 April 1713 – 8 March 1787) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the Seven Years' War and American Revolutionary War, American War of Independence. Ancestry He is thought to have been born i ...

in Antony, Cornwall (1755) *Monument to Pyke Crouch in

Buntingford Buntingford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England. It lies next to the River Rib and is located on the historic Roman road, Ermine Street. As a ...

, Hertfordshire (1756) *Monument to Admiral Temple West in

(1757) *Bust of

Thomas Sydenham Thomas Sydenham (; 10 September 1624 – 29 December 1689) was an England, English physician. He was the author of ''Observationes Medicae'' (1676) which became a standard textbook of medicine for two centuries so that he became known as 'The ...

(1758) *Bust of a Bearded Immortal for

Wentworth Woodhouse Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house in the village of Wentworth, South Yorkshire, Wentworth, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It is currently owned by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation T ...

(1758) *a Medici lion sculpture at

Kedleston Hall Kedleston Hall is a neo-classical manor house owned by the National Trust, and seat of the :Curzon family, Curzon family, located near Kedleston in Derbyshire, England, approximately 4 miles (6 km) north-west of Derby. The medieval village ...

(carved around 1760–1770) *Monument to

in Westminster Abbey (1761) *Monument to Admiral

Holmes Holmes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Holmes (surname), a list of people and fictional characters ** Sherlock Holmes, a fictional detective * Holmes (given name), a list of people * Gordon Holmes, a penname used by Louis Trac ...

in Westminster Abbey (1761) *Bust of his friend

(1761) *Monument to Bishop Hoadly in

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

(1761) *Gold State Coach (1762)Gold State Coach 1762
Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved: 20 May 2022. *Monument to Charlotte St. Quentin in Harpham, Yorkshire (1762) *Bust of

Sir Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment that followed. His book (''Mathe ...

in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

, Oxford (1762) *Bust of

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

(1762) *Monument to

Sir Hans Sloane Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet, (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector. He had a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British ...

in the churchyard of Chelsea Old Church (1763) *Monument to Mary Okeover in Okeover,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

(1764) *Monument to

William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, (22 March 16847 July 1764) was an English Whigs (British political party), Whig politician and peer who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain, British House of Commons from 1707 to 1742 when he was r ...

in Westminster Abbey (1764) *Bust of Lord Camden (1767) *Monument to the Earl and Countess of Mountrath in Westminster Abbey (1771) *Bust of

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 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 both died when Alfr ...

for Lord Radnor (1771) now in University College Oxford *Monument to General James Wolfe in Westminster Abbey (1772) *Bust of Lord Chesterfield, 4th Earl of Bristol at Ickworth Park,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

(1772) *Monument to Sir Thomas Street in

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and Blessed Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England cathedral in Worcester, England, Worcester, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Worcester and is the Mother Church# ...

(1774) *Monument (including a life-size figure) of the

Earl of Mexborough Earl of Mexborough, of Lifford in the County of Donegal, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 11 February 1766 for John Savile, 1st Baron Pollington, Member of Parliament for Hedon and New Shoreham. He had already been c ...

Methley Methley is a dispersed village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, south east of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It is located near Rothwell, West Yorkshire, Rothwell, Oulton, West Yorkshire, Oulton, Woodlesford, Mickletown and Aller ...

, Yorkshire (1778) *Monument to Sir Basil Keith in Jamaica Cathedral (1780) *Monument to Sir James Steuart Denham in Westminster Abbey (1780) *Monument to his own daughters in Chelsea Old Church (1781) *Bust of Sir Robert Long (d 1767) in

Draycot Cerne Draycot Cerne (Draycott) is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sutton Benger, in Wiltshire, England, about north of Chippenham. History The parish was referred to as ''Draicote'' (Medieval Latin) in the ancient D ...

Church,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

(1784) *Monument to Sir Archibald Campbell in Westminster Abbey (1795)

Trivia

By some accounts, the town of

Wilton, New Hampshire Wilton is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,896 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Like many small New England towns, it grew up arou ...

is said to have been named after Sir Joseph in 1762.

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilton, Joseph 1722 births 1803 deaths 18th-century English sculptors 18th-century English male artists English male sculptors Keepers of the Royal Academy Royal Academicians Sculptors from London