Mary Thornycroft (née Francis; 1809 – 1 February 1895) was a British sculptor who sculpted many different busts, fragments and statues. She frequently choose infants and children as her subjects and was commissioned by Queen Victoria to create a number of statues and portraits of her children and other members of the royal family. Several of these are now in the British

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

Biography

The daughter of sculptor John Francis and his wife Mary, Thornycroft was born at Thornham in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. She studied sculpture under her father, and first exhibited a work, a bust of him, at 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 London in 1835, aged 21. Her 1839 exhibition piece, ''The Orphan Flowergirl'' received good reviews. In 1840, she married

Thomas Thornycroft Thomas Thornycroft (19 May 1815 – 30 August 1885) was an English sculptor and engineer. Biography Thornycroft was born at Great Tidnock, near Gawsworth, Cheshire, the eldest son of John Thornycroft, a farmer. He was educated at Congleton ...

, a student of her father. The couple travelled to Italy and lived and worked in Rome for some years. While in Rome, Mary Thornycroft became friends with the sculptors

Bertel Thorvaldsen Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen (; sometimes given as Thorwaldsen; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish-Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor and medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–183 ...

and John Gibson. On her return to London, Gibson recommended her services 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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. Gibson's recommendation marked the beginning of a sequence of royal commissions for Thornycroft lasting from 1844 to 1877. These included ''The Four Seasons'', a series of life-size statues of Victoria's children that were much praised and reproduced as engravings and in several art journals. The drawing-room at

Osborne House Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat. Albert designed the house in the style ...

contained nine life-size marble statues of the young princes and princesses that were modeled by Thornycroft. She also created busts of the Queen in 1840, of the Duchess of Gloucester and, in 1846, of the Prince of Wales. Her 1863 bust of Princess Alexandra, Princess of Wales was reproduced in Parian ware for the domestic retail market. Thornycroft also executed a number of busts of private individuals, as well as a few ideal statues. Among the latter is her figure of a ''Skipping Girl''. She was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy from 1835 until 1871 and at the

British Institution The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it ...

from 1845 to 1864. Mary Thornycroft's primary artistic practice was sculpture in marble and sometimes bronze. Her style was naturalistic with details that displayed the personal expressions of her subjects. As a woman her commissions were limited therefore, she capitalized on her craft on subjects that were easily reachable for her to study, notably infants and children. This was an advantage because this is how she gained her notable royal commissions. She worked with her husband on a frequent basis making attribution of individual pieces sometimes difficult. It is known that the couple, along with their son

Hamo Thornycroft Sir William Hamo Thornycroft (9 March 185018 December 1925) was an English sculptor, responsible for some of London's best-known statues, including the controversial statue of Oliver Cromwell outside the Palace of Westminster. He was a keen stu ...

, worked together during 1875 on ''The Poets' Fountain'' at

Hyde Park Corner Hyde Park Corner is between Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Mayfair in London, England. It primarily refers to a major road junction at the southeastern corner of Hyde Park, that was originally planned by architect Decimus Burton. The juncti ...

in central London and which was damaged beyond repair in a World War II air raid. Thornycroft gave sculpting lessons to

Princess Louise Princess Louise may refer to: People * Louise of Denmark (disambiguation), various princesses * Louise of Prussia (disambiguation), various princesses * Louise of Saxe-Meiningen (disambiguation), various princesses * Princess Louise of Schleswig-H ...

, who was one of Queen Victoria's daughters and who became a notable sculptor in her own right.

Family

The Thornycrofts had six children who grew to adulthood, two sons (Hamo and John Isaac), and four daughters (Alyce, Theresa, Helen and Frances).

became a sculptor while daughters Alyce,

Theresa Thornycroft Theresa Thornycroft (1853 – July 1947) was an English sculptor and painter. Biography Born Theresa Georgina Thornycroft, she was a member of the inventive and artistic branch of the Thornycroft family. Her father was the sculptor and eng ...

, and

Helen Thornycroft Helen Thornycroft (1848 – 11 November 1937) was an English painter and watercolourist of the Victorian era. Biography Born in London, she was a member of the Thornycroft family of sculptors, which included her maternal grandfather John Fr ...

became artists.

John Isaac Thornycroft Sir John Isaac Thornycroft (1 February 1843 – 28 June 1928) was an English shipbuilder, the founder of the Thornycroft shipbuilding company and member of the Thornycroft family. Early life He was born in 1843 to Mary Francis and Thom ...

became a marine engineer. The Thornycrofts were the grandparents of

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 (World War I), Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World ...

, the war poet, through their daughter Theresa, who married Alfred Ezra Sassoon.

Selected artworks

''The Four Seasons''

* Victoria (1840-1901), Princess Royal as 'Summer' c.1850-70 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/25/collection/53263/victoria-1840-1901-princess-royal-as-summer * Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (1841-1910) as 'Winter' c. 1850 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/28/collection/53090/albert-edward-prince-of-wales-1841-1910-as-winter * Prince Alfred (1844-1900) as 'Autumn' c.1847 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/13/collection/34682/prince-alfred-1844-1900-as-autumn * Victoria (1840-1901), Princess Royal, as 'Summer' signed & dated 1847 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/14/collection/1565/victoria-1840-1901-princess-royal-as-summer * Albert Edward (1841-1910), Prince of Wales, as 'Winter'. c.1847 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/16/collection/1567/albert-edward-1841-1910-prince-of-wales-as-winter * Prince Alfred (1844-1900) as 'Autumn' 1847 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/15/collection/1566/prince-alfred-1844-1900-as-autumn * Princess Alice (1843-1878) as 'Spring' c.1850-70 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/47/collection/53097/princess-alice-1843-1878-as-spring

Busts

* Prince Alfred: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/30/collection/2112/prince-alfred-1844-1900 * Alexandria, Princess of Wales: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/21/collection/2094/alexandra-princess-of-wales-1844-1925 * -Princess Alice https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/9/collection/2086/princess-alice-1843-1878-0 * -Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna, Duchess of Edinburgh: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/3/collection/2092/grand-duchess-marie-alexandrovna-duchess-of-edinburgh-1853-1920 * -Albert, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/44/collection/2101/albert-duke-of-schleswig-holstein-1869-1931 * -Princess Helena: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/53/collection/41292/princess-helena-1846-1923 * -Princess Louise: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/54/collection/41293/princess-louise-1848-1939

Fragments

* -Leg and Foot of Prince Alfred : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/5/collection/42012/leg-and-foot-of-prince-alfred * -Princess Helena : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/8/collection/42014/princess-helena-1846-1923 * -Princess Beatrice : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/6/collection/55236/princess-beatrice-1857-1944 * -Left arm and Hand of Princess Louise : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/2/collection/34578/left-arm-and-hand-of-princess-louise * -Prince Leopold : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/10/collection/34357/prince-leopold-1853-1884 * -Prince Alfred : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/58/collection/34581/prince-alfred-1844-1900

Full Body compositions

* Victoria (1868-1935) and Maud (1869-1938) of Wales signed & dated 1877 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/61/collection/2073/victoria-1868-1935-and-maud-1869-1938-of-wales * Louise of Wales (1867-1931) signed & dated 1877 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/60/collection/2072/louise-of-wales-1867-1931 * Princess Louise (1848-1939) as 'Plenty' c.1853-70 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/51/collection/53089/princess-louise-1848-1939-as-plenty * Princess Helena (1846-1923) as 'Peace' c.1850-70 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/46/collection/53096/princess-helena-1846-1923-as-peace * Prince Arthur (1850-1942) as a Hunter. c.1850-70 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/48/collection/53098/prince-arthur-1850-1942-as-a-hunter * Prince Leopold (1853-1884) as a Fisher Boy c.1860 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/44/collection/53088/prince-leopold-1853-1884-as-a-fisher-boy * Prince Leopold (1853-1884) as a Fisher Boy c.1858-60 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/42/collection/41290/prince-leopold-1853-1884-as-a-fisher-boy * Prince Arthur (1850-1942) as a Hunter 1859 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/41/collection/41285/prince-arthur-1850-1942-as-a-hunter * Princess Beatrice (1857-1944) in the Nautilus Shell signed & dated 1858 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/38/collection/41291/princess-beatrice-1857-1944-in-the-nautilus-shell * Princess Helena (1846-1923) as 'Peace' signed & dated 1856 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/34/collection/41295/princess-helena-1846-1923-as-peace * Princess Helena (1846-1923) as 'Peace' signed & dated 1857 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/35/collection/2170/princess-helena-1846-1923-as-peace * Princess Louise (1848-1939) as 'Plenty' signed & dated 1857 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/36/collection/2171/princess-louise-1848-1939-as-plenty

References

;Attribution

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thornycroft, Mary 1809 births 1895 deaths 19th-century English sculptors 19th-century English women artists English women sculptors Artists from Norfolk

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...