Sebastian Gahagan (1779 – 2 March 1838) was a sculptor of Irish descent active in London. His most notable works are the monument to Sir Thomas Picton in

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

, and a statue of the Duke of Kent in Park Crescent, Portland Place. He was also employed by

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, ...

, carrying out the carving of many of his major works.

Life

Gahagan was born in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

in 1779, the son of the Irish-born sculptor Lawrence Gahagan; his brothers were Charles (born c.1765), Lucius (1773-1855) and

Vincent Vincent (Latin: ''Vincentius'') is a masculine given name originating from the Roman name ''Vincentius'', which itself comes from the Latin verb ''vincere'', meaning "to conquer." People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003) ...

(1776-1832). He is said to have been born in Dublin, although his father seems to have settled London about 20 years before his birth. In London he became an assistant to

, carrying out the carving of many of his major works, including the statue of William Pitt for the Senate House at Cambridge (1809), and producing copies of busts. In his biography of Nollekens, JT Smith used the relatively small payments received by Gahagan as evidence of the older sculptor's miserliness. In 1809 he received a premium of £50 from 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 ...

for ''Sampson Breaking his Bonds''. He was a frequent exhibitor at the Royal Academy from 1802 to 1835, mostly of designs for funerary monuments, with occasional portrait statues and busts. His address is given in the Academy catalogues as 58 Tichfield Street until 1816; 33 King Street, Westminster, between 1817 and 1825; 26, William Street, Regent's Park in 1833; 57, Ernest Street, Regent's Park in 1834 and 25, Little Clarendon Street, Somers Town the next year. At the time of his death he is described as "of Euston-square".

Works

As well as his work for Nollekens, Gahagan received several major commissions. His works as an independent sculptor include: *Monument to

Charles Burney Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicis ...

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 ...

(1819). Consisting of a memorial tablet, surmounted by a bust of Burney copied from one by Nollekens exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1815. *The monument to Sir

Thomas Picton Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton (24 August 175818 June 1815) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. He fought in the Napoleonic Wars and died at Waterloo. According to the historian Alessandro Barbero, Picton was "respecte ...

St. Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

, an elaborate composition, commissioned in 1816 and completed in 1820, incorporating a life size bust of Picton, and figures representing Fame and Britannia. Gahagan also produced several busts of Picton, one of which he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1818. *Bust of

Charles Hutton Charles Hutton FRS FRSE LLD (14 August 1737 – 27 January 1823) was an English mathematician and surveyor. He was professor of mathematics at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich from 1773 to 1807. He is remembered for his calculation of th ...

(1822). Commissioned by a group of subscribers and presented to Hutton, a former Professor of Mathematics at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, three months before his death in January 1823 Hutton said of it:

My friends tell me it is like me, but that it is too grave for me, though gravity is a part of my character. For the likeness and expression I cannot myself be the judge; but I can vouch for the accuracy, for I have measured it in every point with the callipers.

bronze statue Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloids (su ...

of the

Duke of Kent Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of King George V. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince Edwa ...

in Park Crescent,

Portland Place Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London. Named after the 3rd Duke of Portland, the unusually wide street is home to the BBC's headquarters Broadcasting House, the Chinese and Polish embassies, the Royal Insti ...

. Installed in January 1824, the statue, high, represents the duke in his Field Marshal's uniform, over which he wears his ducal dress and the regalia of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

. *A statue of George IV for the Royal Exchange, commissioned in 1831. He may also have been responsible for the figures of Isis and Osiris made for the front of William Bullock's

Egyptian Hall The Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, London, was an exhibition hall built in the ancient Egyptian style in 1812, to the designs of Peter Frederick Robinson. The Hall was a considerable success, with exhibitions of artwork and of Napoleonic era re ...

in Piccadilly (1811), now in the collection of the

Museum of London London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...

, although some sources attribute these to his father, Lawrence. The museum attributes the sculptures to Lawrence Gahagan

Death

Gahagan died, aged 60, in 1838 and was buried in the parish of St Pancras, then in Middlesex, on 7 March of that year. Several other members of his family, apart from his father and brothers became sculptors and modellers; they included his nephew Lucius Gahagan, and his niece, Sarah.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gahagan, Sebastian Irish sculptors Artists from Dublin (city) 1838 deaths 1779 births Irish male sculptors