William Theed, also known as William Theed, the younger (1804 – 9 September 1891) was an English

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, the son of the sculptor and painter William Theed the elder

William Theed the elder

William Theed , called William Theed the elder, was an English sculptor and painter, the father of William Theed the younger, also a sculptor...

 (1764–1817). Although versatile and eclectic in his works, he specialised in portrait

Portrait

thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...

ure, and his services were extensively used by the Royal Family

British Royal Family

The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...

.

Career

Theed was born in Trentham, Staffordshire

Trentham, Staffordshire

Trentham is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, located to the south-west of the city centre and to the south of the neighbouring town of Newcastle-under-Lyme. Although the majority of Trentham is within the city limits, it is mostly separated from the main urban area by surrounding open space and the...

. Initially trained by his father, Theed the younger worked for several years in the studio of EH Baily

Edward Hodges Baily

Edward Hodges Baily RA FRS - was an English sculptor who was born in Downend in Bristol.-Life:...

 the sculptor, and on 15 January 1820 was admitted to the Royal Academy Schools

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...

. In 1826 he went to Rome.

In Rome, Theed is believed to have studied under Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish-Icelandic sculptor of international fame, who spent most of his life in Italy . Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a Danish/Icelandic family of humble means, and was accepted to the Royal Academy of Arts when he was eleven years old...

 and Italian Pietro Tenerani

Pietro Tenerani

Pietro Tenerani was an Italian sculptor who studied in the studios of both Antonio Canova and Bertel Thorvaldsen and carried a chaste neoclassical style into the mid-nineteenth century, specialising in pious subjects. His most prominent commission was for the tomb of Pope Pius VIII in Rome....

, as well as John Gibson

John Gibson (sculptor)

John Gibson, was a Welsh sculptor.-Early life:He was born near Conwy, Wales, his father being a market gardener. To his mother, whom he described as ruling his father and all the family, he owed the energy and determination which carried him over every obstacle.When he was nine years old the...

 and Richard James Wyatt. Here he worked in marble creating statues and busts, including those for the duke of Lucca and the prince and princess of Capua. In 1844-5, after nearly 20 years in Rome, he received a commission from Prince Albert, then the prince consort, who had asked John Gibson (now a close friend of Theed) to send designs for statues to be placed in Osborne House. Two designs by Theed were accepted, Narcissus at the Fountain and Psyche Lamenting the Loss of Cupid both in marble.
Theed returned to London in 1848 and soon established a highly successful professional practice. He is known to have married, assumed to be around this time, a woman called Mary and had a son Edward, both listed in the 1881 census. In 1851 he displayed three pieces at the Great Exhibition, the most notable a marble of The Prodigal's Return, a life-size piece, elaborately carved. From London he made further pieces for the prince consort, including a series of mythological reliefs for the reception rooms of Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...

. Another notable piece for the Royal Family includes a series of twelve bas-reliefs illustrating scenes from Tudor history, this time in bronze, which were made for the prince's chamber in the Palace of Westminster

Palace of Westminster

The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...

.

The major aspect of Theed's production, however, was portraiture, with which he received commissions for major commemorative statues. Most notably are:

• Sir Isaac Newton, a bronze (1858) which is at St. Peter's Hill in Grantham
• Henry Hallam
  Henry Hallam
  Henry Hallam was an English historian.-Life:The only son of John Hallam, canon of Windsor and dean of Bristol, Henry Hallam was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, graduating in 1799...
  
  , a marble (1862) in St Paul's Cathedral.
• Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes
  Herbert Benjamin Edwardes
  Major-General Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes DCL KCSI KCB was an English administrator, soldier, and statesman active in the Punjab, India. He is best known as the "Hero of Multan" for his pivotal role in securing the British victory in the Second Anglo-Sikh War.-Early life:Edwardes was born at...
  
  , a marble (1868) in Westminster Abbey

For the Royal Family, he produced busts of:

• Victoria Mary Louise
  Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
  Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the mother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.-Early life:...
  
  , Duchess of Kent, in marble (1861)
• 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 marble (1862)
• Queen Victoria, bronze (1864)

Having been appointed by Queen Victoria to take the death mask

Death mask

In Western cultures a death mask is a wax or plaster cast made of a person’s face following death. Death masks may be mementos of the dead, or be used for creation of portraits...

 of the prince in 1861 he went on to produce several notable memorial statues including those at Balmoral Castle

Balmoral Castle

Balmoral Castle is a large estate house in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and east of Braemar. Balmoral has been one of the residences of the British Royal Family since 1852, when it was purchased by Queen Victoria and her...

.

He died of old age on 9 September 1891 at his home in Kensington

Kensington

Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...

, London, with a wealth of £40,751.

Awards

1820 Society of Arts Silver Palette - for a figure of Hercules

Hercules

Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...

1822 Royal Academy Schools Silver Medal

1822 Society of Arts Silver Isis Medal

External links

• Images of sculptures by William Theed