Musgrave Watson
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
sculptor of the early 19th century.
Watson was born in Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
, being christened on 8 March 1804 at Hawksdale, near Dalston
Dalston, Cumbria
Dalston is a large village and civil parish within the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England. It is situated on the B5299 road about four miles south-south-west of Carlisle city centre, and approximately five miles from Junction 42 of the M6 motorway.The village has a population of around...
. His parents were prosperous farmers, who also owned an iron-forge. Although he had artistic ambitions from an early age, at his parents' insistence he was articled to a solicitor in Carlisle in 1821 . Following his fathers's death in 1823, he abandoned the legal profession and went to London to study sculpture. He took advice from Flaxman, and studied under Robert William Sevier and at the Royal Academy. In 1825 he left for Rome. On his return in 1828 he was determined to set up as a sculptor on his own account, rather than work in another artist's studio. However financial difficulties forced him to seek employment with Sir Francis Chantrey. He argued with Chantrey and afterwards worked for Richard Westmacott
Richard Westmacott
Sir Richard Westmacott, Jr., RA was a British sculptor.-Life and career:He studied under his father, Richard Westmacott the Elder, before going to Rome in 1793 to study under Antonio Canova...
, William Behnes
William Behnes
William Behnes was an English sculptor of the early 19th century.Born in London, Behnes was the son of a Hanoverian pianoforte-maker and his English wife. His early life was spent in Dublin where he studied art at the Dublin Academy....
and Edward Hodges Baily
Edward Hodges Baily
Edward Hodges Baily RA FRS - was an English sculptor who was born in Downend in Bristol.-Life:...
. According to his biographer, Henry Lonsdale, he then spent two years at the Coade Artificial Stone Works in Lambeth, where he modelled sculptures and friezes for both private and public buildings. The work was well paid, but he decided to leave and set up his own studio once more.
He fell into financial difficulties again, and in 1832 had his belongings distrained for rent.However, eventually circumstances improved: a stone frieze for Moxhay's Commercial Hall in Threadneedle Street in the City of London, completed in 1842, brought him critical acclaim. Five and a half feet tall and seventy three feet long , it can now be seen in Napier Terrace Islington. In the same year he received a lucrative commission from Lord Eldon for a marble double portrait of his grandfather, the first Lord Eldon
John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon
John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon PC KC FRS FSA was a British barrister and politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain between 1801 and 1806 and again between 1807 and 1827.- Background and education :...
, and his great-uncle, Baron Stowell. The commission had originally been given to Sir Francis Chantrey, who died before it could be carried out.
In 1839 Watson submitted designs to both competitions held by the Nelson Memorial Committee for a monument to be erected in Trafalgar Square. He was unsuccessful, but was later chosen to sculpt the relief panel of the Battle of Cape St. Vincent on the pedestal of the winning entry, William Railton
William Railton
William Railton was an English architect, best known as the designer of Nelson's Column. He was based in London with offices at 12 Regent Street for much of his career.He was a pupil of the London architect and surveyor William Inwood....
's Nelson's Column.
Nelson's Column
Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in central London built to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The monument was constructed between 1840 and 1843 to a design by William Railton at a cost of £47,000. It is a column of the Corinthian...
He was, however, unhappy with the terms of the commission, writing in a letter " I think the world will be disappointed with the relievi. The subjects are unfit for sculpture, or at least unfavourable." Watson died before the Cape St Vincent relief could be finished, having suffered from a persistent heart condition for most of his adult life,. He also left the Eldon sculpture and a statue of John Flaxman to be completed by others. Just before his death he had most of the models in his studio destroyed.
Works
- Double portrait of brothers Lord EldonJohn Scott, 1st Earl of EldonJohn Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon PC KC FRS FSA was a British barrister and politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain between 1801 and 1806 and again between 1807 and 1827.- Background and education :...
and Lord StowellWilliam Scott, 1st Baron StowellWilliam Scott, 1st Baron Stowell was an English judge and jurist.-Background and education:Scott was born at Heworth, a village about four miles from Newcastle upon Tyne, the son of a coalfitter . His younger brother John Scott became Lord Chancellor and was made Earl of Eldon...
at University College, OxfordUniversity College, Oxford.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
(1842) - Statue of Queen Elizabeth I for the Royal ExchangeRoyal ExchangeRoyal Exchange may refer to:*Royal Exchange, Belfast a major mixed-use regeneration scheme in the North East Quarter of Belfast City Centre*Royal Exchange, Manchester, a 19th century classical building, home of the Royal Exchange Theatre...
(1844) - Marble statues of Major Francis AglionbyFrancis AglionbyFrancis Aglionby was an English Whig politician.Aglionby stood for election to Parliament in Cumberland Western at a by-election in 1833 and again at the 1835 general election, but without success...
(1843 - Aglionby was MP for East CumberlandEast Cumberland (UK Parliament constituency)East Cumberland is a former county constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote system of election.- Boundaries :...
) and Lord LonsdaleWilliam Lowther, 1st Earl of LonsdaleWilliam Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale of the second creation KG was a British Tory politician and nobleman.-Life:...
(1845), in Carlisle - Statue of Flaxman for University College LondonUniversity College LondonUniversity College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
(1843–1847) - Pedimental sculpture for the Victoria Rooms in BristolBristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
- Frieze from Moxhall's Hall of Commerce in the City of LondonCity of LondonThe City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
Installed in Napier Terrace IslingtonIslingtonIslington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
in 1975.