John Francis (3 September 1780 – 30 August 1861) was an English sculptor.
Life
Francis was born in Lincolnshire, and was intended to go into farming. He settled in London, where he became a pupil of Samuel Joseph and Francis Leggatt Chantrey. [1] He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1820 a bust of Thomas William Coke, and another of Captain Sir William Bolton, R.N. At this period his residence was at Thornham, Norfolk. In 1822, when he sent to the Academy a bust of Horatia Nelson, he was living at 2 New Norfolk Street, Park Lane.
In 1844 he executed by command of Queen Victoria a marble bust of Albert, Prince Consort; this followed a commission a few years earlier for a bust of the Queen, which went to the hall of the Reform Club. About this period Francis moved to 56 Albany Street, Regent's Park.
He taught his daughter Mary, [2] who married his pupil Thomas Thornycroft. Other pupils included Joseph Durham and Matthew Noble. [1]
Francis died at his home in Albany Street, aged 80 [1] and is buried on the western side of Highgate Cemetery (plot no.3058). [3]
Works
Among his other works were:
- Bust of Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of wellington at Apsley House (1818)
- Bust of Lord Holland at Holland House (1829)
- Statue of the Duke of Sutherland in Dornoch Cathedral (1843)
- posthumous bust of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1844);
- busts of the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk (1844);
- bust in bronze of the Duke of Sussex (1847);
- marble bust of Lord John Russell, which went to the National Portrait Gallery (1848);
- a bronze medal of Eos, a favourite greyhound of Prince Albert (1848);
- marble bust of the Hon. Edward Petre (1848);
- four busts, in marble, of various members of the Eaton family (1851);
- posthumous bust of the Earl of Carlisle (1852);
- bust of the Duke of Wellington, which went to the National Portrait Gallery (1852);
- posthumous bust of the Hon. and Rev. James Norton (1854);
- bust of Vice-admiral Sir Charles Napier (1855);
- cabinet bust of the Right Hon. Earl of Aberdeen (1856).
References
- . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
Notes
- ^ a b c Mapping the Profession page.
- ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1898). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 56. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ Cansick, Frederick Teague (1872). The Monumental Inscriptions of Middlesex Vol 2. J Russell Smith. p. 122. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
External links
- "Archival material relating to John Francis". UK National Archives.
- White, Adam (2008). "Francis, John". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/10074. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Works by John Francis at the National Portrait Gallery, London
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain: "
Francis, John (1780-1861)".
Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
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