John Henry Foley
Encyclopedia
John Henry Foley often referred to as JH Foley, was an Irish
sculptor
, best known for his statues of Daniel O'Connell
in Dublin, and of Prince Albert
in London
. Both are still considered iconic in each city.
, where he took several first-class prizes. In 1835 he was admitted a student in the schools of the Royal Academy
, London. He first appeared as an exhibitor there in 1839, but came to fame in 1844 with his Youth at a Stream. Thereafter commissions provided a steady career for the rest of his life. In 1849 he was made an associate, and in 1858 a full member of the Royal Academy.
In 1864 he was chosen to sculpt one of the four large groups, each representing a continent, on the Albert Memorial
in Kensington Gardens. His design for Asia was approved in December of that year. In 1868, Foley was also asked to make the statue of the Prince Albert himself for the memorial, following the death of Carlo Marochetti
, who had originally received the commission.
He died at Hampstead
, London on 27 August 1874, and on 4 September he was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. He left his models to the Royal Dublin Society
, his early school, and a great part of his property to the Artists' Benevolent Fund. He did not see the entire Albert Memorial completed before his death. A statue of Foley himself, on the front of the Victoria and Albert Museum
, depicts him as a rather gaunt figure, moustached with a floppy cap.
His more famous works in London include:
In Ireland:
Elsewhere:
The equestrian statue of Sir James Outram is probably his masterpiece. Foley's early fanciful works have some charming qualities; but he will probably always be best remembered for the workmanlike and manly style of his monumental portraits.
in 1922, a number of Foley's works were removed, or destroyed without notice, because the persons portrayed were considered hostile to the process of Irish independence. These included Lord Carlisle, Lord Dunkellin
(in Galway
) and Field Marshal Gough
in the Phoenix Park
. The statue of Lord Dunkellin was decapitated and dumped in the river as one the first acts of the short-lived "Galway Soviet" of 1922.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, best known for his statues of Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
in Dublin, and of Prince Albert
Prince Albert
Prince Albert was the husband and consort of Queen Victoria.Prince Albert may also refer to:-Royalty:*Prince Albert Edward or Edward VII of the United Kingdom , son of Albert and Victoria...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Both are still considered iconic in each city.
Life
Foley was born on the 24th of May 1818 at 6 Montgomery Street, Dublin, in what was then the city's artists' quarter. The street has been renamed Foley Street in his honour. His father was a glass-blower and his step-grandfather Benjamin Schrowder was a sculptor. At thirteen he began to study drawing and modelling at the Royal Dublin SocietyRoyal Dublin Society
The Royal Dublin Society was founded on 25 June 1731 to "to promote and develop agriculture, arts, industry, and science in Ireland". The RDS is synonymous with its main premises in Ballsbridge in Dublin, Ireland...
, where he took several first-class prizes. In 1835 he was admitted a student in the schools of the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, London. He first appeared as an exhibitor there in 1839, but came to fame in 1844 with his Youth at a Stream. Thereafter commissions provided a steady career for the rest of his life. In 1849 he was made an associate, and in 1858 a full member of the Royal Academy.
In 1864 he was chosen to sculpt one of the four large groups, each representing a continent, on the Albert Memorial
Albert Memorial
The Albert Memorial is situated in Kensington Gardens, London, England, directly to the north of the Royal Albert Hall. It was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband, Prince Albert who died of typhoid in 1861. The memorial was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the...
in Kensington Gardens. His design for Asia was approved in December of that year. In 1868, Foley was also asked to make the statue of the Prince Albert himself for the memorial, following the death of Carlo Marochetti
Carlo Marochetti
Baron Carlo Marochetti was a sculptor, born in Turin but raised in Paris as a French citizen.-Life:Carlo Marochetti was born on 4 January 1805. His first teachers were François Joseph Bosio and Antoine-Jean Gros in Paris. Here his statue of A Young Girl playing with a Dog won a medal in 1829, and...
, who had originally received the commission.
He died at Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, London on 27 August 1874, and on 4 September he was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. He left his models to the Royal Dublin Society
Royal Dublin Society
The Royal Dublin Society was founded on 25 June 1731 to "to promote and develop agriculture, arts, industry, and science in Ireland". The RDS is synonymous with its main premises in Ballsbridge in Dublin, Ireland...
, his early school, and a great part of his property to the Artists' Benevolent Fund. He did not see the entire Albert Memorial completed before his death. A statue of Foley himself, on the front of the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, depicts him as a rather gaunt figure, moustached with a floppy cap.
Works
See also Works at Wikimedia CommonsHis more famous works in London include:
- The Mother; Egeria, for the Mansion House;
- The Elder Brother in Comus, his diploma work;
- The Muse of Painting, the monument of James WardJames Ward (artist)James Ward , R.A., was a painter, particularly of animals, and an engraver.-Biography:Born in London, and younger brother of William Ward the engraver, James Ward was influenced by many people, but his career is conventionally divided into two periods: until 1803, his single greatest influence was...
, R.A.; - Caractacus, for the Mansion House;
- 'HermaphroditusHermaphroditusIn Greek mythology, Hermaphroditus or Hermaphroditos was the child of Aphrodite and Hermes. He was a minor deity of bisexuality and effeminacy. According to Ovid, born a remarkably handsome boy, he was transformed into an androgynous being by union with the water nymph Salmacis...
or Youth at the stream (1844) was cast in bronze by J Hadfield for The Great ExhibitionThe Great ExhibitionThe Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations or The Great Exhibition, sometimes referred to as the Crystal Palace Exhibition in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held, was an international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, from 1 May to 15 October...
of 1851. - Helen Faucit;
- Michael FaradayMichael FaradayMichael Faraday, FRS was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....
; - Reynolds ;
- Charles BarryCharles BarrySir Charles Barry FRS was an English architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens.- Background and training :Born on 23 May 1795 in Bridge Street, Westminster...
, in Westminster Palace Yard; - John Stuart MillJohn Stuart MillJohn Stuart Mill was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of...
, for the Thames embankment - The symbolical group Asia, as well as the statue of the prince himself, for the Albert MemorialAlbert MemorialThe Albert Memorial is situated in Kensington Gardens, London, England, directly to the north of the Royal Albert Hall. It was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband, Prince Albert who died of typhoid in 1861. The memorial was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the...
in Hyde ParkHyde Park, LondonHyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
In Ireland:
- GoldsmithOliver GoldsmithOliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
and BurkeEdmund BurkeEdmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
outside Trinity College, DublinTrinity College, DublinTrinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
; - Daniel O'ConnellDaniel O'ConnellDaniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
" (O'Connell Street), - Sir BL Guinness (1875)
- Field Marshal GoughHugh Gough, 1st Viscount GoughField Marshal Sir Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, KP, GCSI, KCB, PC , was an Irish British Army officer. He was said to have commanded in more general actions than any other British officer of the 19th century except the Duke of Wellington.- Early career :Born at Woodstown House, Co...
(formerly in the Phoenix ParkPhoenix ParkPhoenix Park is an urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying 2–4 km west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its 16 km perimeter wall encloses , one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since the seventeenth...
, now at Chillingham CastleChillingham CastleChillingham Castle is a medieval castle in the village of Chillingham in the northern part of Northumberland, England. It was the seat of the Grey family and their descendants the Earls of Tankerville from the 13th century until the 1980s. The Chillingham Wild Cattle, formerly associated with the...
); - Henry GrattanHenry GrattanHenry Grattan was an Irish politician and member of the Irish House of Commons and a campaigner for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century. He opposed the Act of Union 1800 that merged the Kingdoms of Ireland and Great Britain.-Early life:Grattan was born at...
, College Green - Sir Dominic CorriganDominic CorriganSir Dominic Corrigan was a physician, known for his original observations in heart disease. The abnormal "collapsing" pulse of aortic valve insufficiency is named Corrigan's pulse after him.-Birth and Education:The son of a dealer in agricultural tools, Corrigan was educated in St...
- Memorial to Brigadier General John Nicholson (1862) in Lisburn Cathedral.
- Memorial to Father MathewTheobald Mathew (temperance reformer)Theobald Mathew , an Irish teetotalist reformer, popularly known as Father Mathew was born at Thomastown, near Golden, County Tipperary, on October 10, 1790....
, campaigner for teetotalismTeetotalismTeetotalism refers to either the practice of or the promotion of complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages. A person who practices teetotalism is called a teetotaler or is simply said to be teetotal...
, in Cork (1864)
Elsewhere:
- Clyde, for GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
; - Clive, for ShrewsburyShrewsburyShrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
; - HermaphroditusHermaphroditusIn Greek mythology, Hermaphroditus or Hermaphroditos was the child of Aphrodite and Hermes. He was a minor deity of bisexuality and effeminacy. According to Ovid, born a remarkably handsome boy, he was transformed into an androgynous being by union with the water nymph Salmacis...
or Youth at the stream (1844) was cast in bronze by J Hadfield for The Great ExhibitionThe Great ExhibitionThe Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations or The Great Exhibition, sometimes referred to as the Crystal Palace Exhibition in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held, was an international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, from 1 May to 15 October...
of 1851. According to a plaque which accompanies it, the statue was donated to the Bancroft Gardens in Stratford-upon-AvonStratford-upon-AvonStratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
by Alfred Bullard in 1932. - Viscount Hardinge (1858), Canning and Sir James Outram (1864'), for Calcutta;
- Hon. James Stewart, for Ceylon;
- Stonewall JacksonStonewall Jacksonຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
, in Richmond, Va.
The equestrian statue of Sir James Outram is probably his masterpiece. Foley's early fanciful works have some charming qualities; but he will probably always be best remembered for the workmanlike and manly style of his monumental portraits.
Destruction of some works
Following the creation of the Irish Free StateIrish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
in 1922, a number of Foley's works were removed, or destroyed without notice, because the persons portrayed were considered hostile to the process of Irish independence. These included Lord Carlisle, Lord Dunkellin
Ulick de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde
Ulick John de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde KP, PC , styled Lord Dunkellin until 1808 and known as The Earl of Clanricarde between 1808 and 1825, was a British Whig politician.-Background and education:...
(in Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
) and Field Marshal Gough
Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough
Field Marshal Sir Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, KP, GCSI, KCB, PC , was an Irish British Army officer. He was said to have commanded in more general actions than any other British officer of the 19th century except the Duke of Wellington.- Early career :Born at Woodstown House, Co...
in the Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park is an urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying 2–4 km west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its 16 km perimeter wall encloses , one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since the seventeenth...
. The statue of Lord Dunkellin was decapitated and dumped in the river as one the first acts of the short-lived "Galway Soviet" of 1922.