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Bust of Queen Victoria
Sculptor: Gilbert, Alfred
Carved white marble, over life-sized bust. Signed.
History note: Purchased with funds from the Hartley Johnson Bequest and the National Heritage Memorial Fund
Height: 86 cm
Method of acquisition: Bought (2018-04-30)
19th Century, Late#
1887
CE
-
1889
CE
Commissioned by the Army and Navy Club in November 1887, to celebrate both Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee and that of the club's foundation. The completed bust was delivered to the club in late May/early June 1889. Drill holes on the top of the head and surviving club records indicate that the bust was once surmounted by a metal crown. This was removed in late 1893 and returned to Gilbert for use as a model for a marble version which he had offered to make for the bust. Gilbert failed to return the original metal crown, nor did he ever supply a replacement. (Jones 2019, pp. 16 and 19). The bust is one of only a dozen or so known works in marble by Gilbert.
Sir Alfred Gilbert RA MVO (1854-1934) was an English sculptor. He studied in London, Paris and Rome, returning to England in 1884. His commissions included the jubilee memorial to Queen Victoria in Winchester and the statue of Eros, in aluminium, for the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in Piccadilly Circus, and in 1900 he was appointed Professor of Sculpture at the Royal Academy. A period of bankruptcy and divorce followed, and Gilbert moved to Bruges. On his return to England in 1926, his fortunes improved, the highlight being the bronze Queen Alexandra Memorial, at Marlborough House, London, 1926-32. He was knighted by George V in 1932. Gilbert died in poverty in 1934.
Carving : Sculpted white marble
Accession number: M.1-2018
Primary reference Number: 223239
External ID: CAM_CCF_M_1_2018
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
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IIIF Manifest
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Bust of Queen Victoria" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/223239 Accessed: 2024-12-19 13:47:06
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/223239
|title=Bust of Queen Victoria
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-19 13:47:06|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-223239
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa38/M_1_2018_1_201807_adn21_dc2.jpg"
alt="Bust of Queen Victoria"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Bust of Queen Victoria</figcaption>
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