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Mary Thornycroft

April 11, 2024

Mary Thornycroft (née Francis; 1809 – 1 February 1895) was a British sculptor who sculpted many different busts, fragments and statues.[1] She frequently choose infants and children as her subjects and was commissioned by Queen Victoria to create a number of statues and portraits of her children and other members of the royal family. Several of these are now in the British Royal Collection.

Mary Thornycroft
Mary Thornycroft, 1864, albumen print (carte-de-visite) by Maull & Polybank, Dept. of Image Collections, National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, DC.
Born
Mary Francis

1809
Thornham, Norfolk, England
Died1895 (aged 85–86)
NationalityBritish
OccupationSculptor

Biography edit

The daughter of sculptor John Francis and his wife Mary, Thornycroft was born at Thornham in Norfolk. She studied sculpture under her father, and first exhibited a work, a bust of him, at the Royal Academy in London in 1835, aged 21.[2][3] Her 1839 exhibition piece, The Orphan Flowergirl received good reviews.[3]

In 1840, she married Thomas Thornycroft, a student of her father. The couple travelled to Italy and lived and worked in Rome for some years.[3] While in Rome, Mary Thornycroft became friends with the sculptors Bertel Thorvaldsen and John Gibson. On her return to London, Gibson recommended her services to Queen Victoria.[3] Gibson's recommendation marked the beginning of a sequence of royal commissions for Thornycroft lasting from 1844 to 1877. These included The Four Seasons, a series of life-size statues of Victoria's children that were much praised and reproduced as engravings and in several art journals.[3] The drawing-room at Osborne House contained nine life-size marble statues of the young princes and princesses that were modeled by Thornycroft. She also created busts of the Queen in 1840, of the Duchess of Gloucester and, in 1846, of the Prince of Wales.[3] Her 1863 bust of Princess Alexandra, Princess of Wales was reproduced in Parian ware for the domestic retail market.[3]

Thornycroft also executed a number of busts of private individuals, as well as a few ideal statues. Among the latter is her figure of a Skipping Girl.[4] She was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy from 1835 until 1871 and at the British Institution from 1845 to 1864.[3]

Mary Thornycroft's primary artistic practice was sculpture in marble and sometimes bronze. Her style was naturalistic with details that displayed the personal expressions of her subjects. As a woman her commissions were limited therefore, she capitalized on her craft on subjects that were easily reachable for her to study, notably infants and children. This was an advantage because this is how she gained her notable royal commissions.[5][6] She worked with her husband on a frequent basis making attribution of individual pieces sometimes difficult. It is known that the couple, along with their son Hamo Thornycroft, worked together during 1875 on The Poets' Fountain at Hyde Park Corner in central London and which was damaged beyond repair in a World War II air raid.[3]

Thornycroft gave sculpting lessons to Princess Louise who was one of Queen Victoria's daughters and who became a notable sculptor in her own right.[7]

Family edit

The Thornycrofts had six children who grew to adulthood, two sons (Hamo and John Isaac), and four daughters (Alyce, Theresa, Helen and Frances). Hamo Thornycroft became a sculptor while daughters Alyce, Theresa Thornycroft, and Helen Thornycroft became artists. John Isaac Thornycroft became a marine engineer.[7] The Thornycrofts were the grandparents of Siegfried Sassoon, the war poet, through their daughter Theresa, who married Alfred Ezra Sassoon.[8]

Selected artworks edit

The Four Seasons edit

  • Victoria (1840-1901), Princess Royal as 'Summer' c.1850-70 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/25/collection/53263/victoria-1840-1901-princess-royal-as-summer
  • Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (1841-1910) as 'Winter' c. 1850 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/28/collection/53090/albert-edward-prince-of-wales-1841-1910-as-winter
  • Prince Alfred (1844-1900) as 'Autumn' c.1847 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/13/collection/34682/prince-alfred-1844-1900-as-autumn
  • Victoria (1840-1901), Princess Royal, as 'Summer' signed & dated 1847 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/14/collection/1565/victoria-1840-1901-princess-royal-as-summer
  • Albert Edward (1841-1910), Prince of Wales, as 'Winter'. c.1847 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/16/collection/1567/albert-edward-1841-1910-prince-of-wales-as-winter
  • Prince Alfred (1844-1900) as 'Autumn' 1847 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/15/collection/1566/prince-alfred-1844-1900-as-autumn
  • Princess Alice (1843-1878) as 'Spring' c.1850-70 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/47/collection/53097/princess-alice-1843-1878-as-spring

Busts edit

  • Prince Alfred: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/30/collection/2112/prince-alfred-1844-1900
  • Alexandria, Princess of Wales: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/21/collection/2094/alexandra-princess-of-wales-1844-1925
  • -Princess Alice https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/9/collection/2086/princess-alice-1843-1878-0
  • -Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna, Duchess of Edinburgh: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/3/collection/2092/grand-duchess-marie-alexandrovna-duchess-of-edinburgh-1853-1920
  • -Albert, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/44/collection/2101/albert-duke-of-schleswig-holstein-1869-1931
  • -Princess Helena: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/53/collection/41292/princess-helena-1846-1923
  • -Princess Louise: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/54/collection/41293/princess-louise-1848-1939

Fragments edit

  • -Leg and Foot of Prince Alfred : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/5/collection/42012/leg-and-foot-of-prince-alfred
  • -Princess Helena : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/8/collection/42014/princess-helena-1846-1923
  • -Princess Beatrice : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/6/collection/55236/princess-beatrice-1857-1944
  • -Left arm and Hand of Princess Louise : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/2/collection/34578/left-arm-and-hand-of-princess-louise
  • -Prince Leopold : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/10/collection/34357/prince-leopold-1853-1884
  • -Prince Alfred : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/58/collection/34581/prince-alfred-1844-1900

Full Body compositions edit

  • Victoria (1868-1935) and Maud (1869-1938) of Wales signed & dated 1877 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/61/collection/2073/victoria-1868-1935-and-maud-1869-1938-of-wales
  • Louise of Wales (1867-1931) signed & dated 1877 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/60/collection/2072/louise-of-wales-1867-1931
  • Princess Louise (1848-1939) as 'Plenty' c.1853-70 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/51/collection/53089/princess-louise-1848-1939-as-plenty
  • Princess Helena (1846-1923) as 'Peace' c.1850-70 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/46/collection/53096/princess-helena-1846-1923-as-peace
  • Prince Arthur (1850-1942) as a Hunter. c.1850-70 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/48/collection/53098/prince-arthur-1850-1942-as-a-hunter
  • Prince Leopold (1853-1884) as a Fisher Boy c.1860 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/44/collection/53088/prince-leopold-1853-1884-as-a-fisher-boy
  • Prince Leopold (1853-1884) as a Fisher Boy c.1858-60 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/42/collection/41290/prince-leopold-1853-1884-as-a-fisher-boy
  • Prince Arthur (1850-1942) as a Hunter 1859 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/41/collection/41285/prince-arthur-1850-1942-as-a-hunter
  • Princess Beatrice (1857-1944) in the Nautilus Shell signed & dated 1858 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/38/collection/41291/princess-beatrice-1857-1944-in-the-nautilus-shell
  • Princess Helena (1846-1923) as 'Peace' signed & dated 1856 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/34/collection/41295/princess-helena-1846-1923-as-peace
  • Princess Helena (1846-1923) as 'Peace' signed & dated 1857 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/35/collection/2170/princess-helena-1846-1923-as-peace
  • Princess Louise (1848-1939) as 'Plenty' signed & dated 1857 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/36/collection/2171/princess-louise-1848-1939-as-plenty

References edit

  1. ^ Proctor, Nancy. "Thornycroft, Mary". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27368. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1898). "Thornycroft, Mary" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 56. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Robert Gunnis (1951). Dictionary of British Sculpture 1660-1851. The Abbey Library.
  4. ^ "'The Skipping Girl'". Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII. 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  5. ^ Penny McCracken (1996). "Sculptor Mary Thornycroft and Her Artist Children". Woman's Art Journal. 17 (2): 3–8. doi:10.2307/1358460. ISSN 0270-7993. JSTOR 1358460.
  6. ^ "Sculptures - Mary Thornycroft and Abraham Kent". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  7. ^ a b Proctor, Nancy. "Thornycroft, Mary". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27368. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  8. ^ Hart-Davis, Rupert. "Sassoon, Siegfried Loraine". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35953. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Attribution

  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1898). "Thornycroft, Mary". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 56. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mary Thornycroft.

April 11, 2024
mary, thornycroft, née, francis, 1809, february, 1895, british, sculptor, sculpted, many, different, busts, fragments, statues, frequently, choose, infants, children, subjects, commissioned, queen, victoria, create, number, statues, portraits, children, other,. Mary Thornycroft nee Francis 1809 1 February 1895 was a British sculptor who sculpted many different busts fragments and statues 1 She frequently choose infants and children as her subjects and was commissioned by Queen Victoria to create a number of statues and portraits of her children and other members of the royal family Several of these are now in the British Royal Collection Mary ThornycroftMary Thornycroft 1864 albumen print carte de visite by Maull amp Polybank Dept of Image Collections National Gallery of Art Library Washington DC BornMary Francis1809Thornham Norfolk EnglandDied1895 aged 85 86 NationalityBritishOccupationSculptor Contents 1 Biography 2 Family 3 Selected artworks 3 1 The Four Seasons 3 2 Busts 3 3 Fragments 3 4 Full Body compositions 4 References 5 External linksBiography editThe daughter of sculptor John Francis and his wife Mary Thornycroft was born at Thornham in Norfolk She studied sculpture under her father and first exhibited a work a bust of him at the Royal Academy in London in 1835 aged 21 2 3 Her 1839 exhibition piece The Orphan Flowergirl received good reviews 3 In 1840 she married Thomas Thornycroft a student of her father The couple travelled to Italy and lived and worked in Rome for some years 3 While in Rome Mary Thornycroft became friends with the sculptors Bertel Thorvaldsen and John Gibson On her return to London Gibson recommended her services to Queen Victoria 3 Gibson s recommendation marked the beginning of a sequence of royal commissions for Thornycroft lasting from 1844 to 1877 These included The Four Seasons a series of life size statues of Victoria s children that were much praised and reproduced as engravings and in several art journals 3 The drawing room at Osborne House contained nine life size marble statues of the young princes and princesses that were modeled by Thornycroft She also created busts of the Queen in 1840 of the Duchess of Gloucester and in 1846 of the Prince of Wales 3 Her 1863 bust of Princess Alexandra Princess of Wales was reproduced in Parian ware for the domestic retail market 3 Thornycroft also executed a number of busts of private individuals as well as a few ideal statues Among the latter is her figure of a Skipping Girl 4 She was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy from 1835 until 1871 and at the British Institution from 1845 to 1864 3 Mary Thornycroft s primary artistic practice was sculpture in marble and sometimes bronze Her style was naturalistic with details that displayed the personal expressions of her subjects As a woman her commissions were limited therefore she capitalized on her craft on subjects that were easily reachable for her to study notably infants and children This was an advantage because this is how she gained her notable royal commissions 5 6 She worked with her husband on a frequent basis making attribution of individual pieces sometimes difficult It is known that the couple along with their son Hamo Thornycroft worked together during 1875 on The Poets Fountain at Hyde Park Corner in central London and which was damaged beyond repair in a World War II air raid 3 Thornycroft gave sculpting lessons to Princess Louise who was one of Queen Victoria s daughters and who became a notable sculptor in her own right 7 Family editThe Thornycrofts had six children who grew to adulthood two sons Hamo and John Isaac and four daughters Alyce Theresa Helen and Frances Hamo Thornycroft became a sculptor while daughters Alyce Theresa Thornycroft and Helen Thornycroft became artists John Isaac Thornycroft became a marine engineer 7 The Thornycrofts were the grandparents of Siegfried Sassoon the war poet through their daughter Theresa who married Alfred Ezra Sassoon 8 Selected artworks editThe Four Seasons edit Victoria 1840 1901 Princess Royal as Summer c 1850 70 https www rct uk collection search 25 collection 53263 victoria 1840 1901 princess royal as summer Albert Edward Prince of Wales 1841 1910 as Winter c 1850 https www rct uk collection search 28 collection 53090 albert edward prince of wales 1841 1910 as winter Prince Alfred 1844 1900 as Autumn c 1847 https www rct uk collection search 13 collection 34682 prince alfred 1844 1900 as autumn Victoria 1840 1901 Princess Royal as Summer signed amp dated 1847 https www rct uk collection search 14 collection 1565 victoria 1840 1901 princess royal as summer Albert Edward 1841 1910 Prince of Wales as Winter c 1847 https www rct uk collection search 16 collection 1567 albert edward 1841 1910 prince of wales as winter Prince Alfred 1844 1900 as Autumn 1847 https www rct uk collection search 15 collection 1566 prince alfred 1844 1900 as autumn Princess Alice 1843 1878 as Spring c 1850 70 https www rct uk collection search 47 collection 53097 princess alice 1843 1878 as springBusts edit Prince Alfred https www rct uk collection search 30 collection 2112 prince alfred 1844 1900 Alexandria Princess of Wales https www rct uk collection search 21 collection 2094 alexandra princess of wales 1844 1925 Princess Alice https www rct uk collection search 9 collection 2086 princess alice 1843 1878 0 Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna Duchess of Edinburgh https www rct uk collection search 3 collection 2092 grand duchess marie alexandrovna duchess of edinburgh 1853 1920 Albert Duke of Schleswig Holstein https www rct uk collection search 44 collection 2101 albert duke of schleswig holstein 1869 1931 Princess Helena https www rct uk collection search 53 collection 41292 princess helena 1846 1923 Princess Louise https www rct uk collection search 54 collection 41293 princess louise 1848 1939Fragments edit Leg and Foot of Prince Alfred https www rct uk collection search 5 collection 42012 leg and foot of prince alfred Princess Helena https www rct uk collection search 8 collection 42014 princess helena 1846 1923 Princess Beatrice https www rct uk collection search 6 collection 55236 princess beatrice 1857 1944 Left arm and Hand of Princess Louise https www rct uk collection search 2 collection 34578 left arm and hand of princess louise Prince Leopold https www rct uk collection search 10 collection 34357 prince leopold 1853 1884 Prince Alfred https www rct uk collection search 58 collection 34581 prince alfred 1844 1900Full Body compositions edit Victoria 1868 1935 and Maud 1869 1938 of Wales signed amp dated 1877 https www rct uk collection search 61 collection 2073 victoria 1868 1935 and maud 1869 1938 of wales Louise of Wales 1867 1931 signed amp dated 1877 https www rct uk collection search 60 collection 2072 louise of wales 1867 1931 Princess Louise 1848 1939 as Plenty c 1853 70 https www rct uk collection search 51 collection 53089 princess louise 1848 1939 as plenty Princess Helena 1846 1923 as Peace c 1850 70 https www rct uk collection search 46 collection 53096 princess helena 1846 1923 as peace Prince Arthur 1850 1942 as a Hunter c 1850 70 https www rct uk collection search 48 collection 53098 prince arthur 1850 1942 as a hunter Prince Leopold 1853 1884 as a Fisher Boy c 1860 https www rct uk collection search 44 collection 53088 prince leopold 1853 1884 as a fisher boy Prince Leopold 1853 1884 as a Fisher Boy c 1858 60 https www rct uk collection search 42 collection 41290 prince leopold 1853 1884 as a fisher boy Prince Arthur 1850 1942 as a Hunter 1859 https www rct uk collection search 41 collection 41285 prince arthur 1850 1942 as a hunter Princess Beatrice 1857 1944 in the Nautilus Shell signed amp dated 1858 https www rct uk collection search 38 collection 41291 princess beatrice 1857 1944 in the nautilus shell Princess Helena 1846 1923 as Peace signed amp dated 1856 https www rct uk collection search 34 collection 41295 princess helena 1846 1923 as peace Princess Helena 1846 1923 as Peace signed amp dated 1857 https www rct uk collection search 35 collection 2170 princess helena 1846 1923 as peace Princess Louise 1848 1939 as Plenty signed amp dated 1857 https www rct uk collection search 36 collection 2171 princess louise 1848 1939 as plentyReferences edit Proctor Nancy Thornycroft Mary Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 27368 Subscription or UK public library membership required Lee Sidney ed 1898 Thornycroft Mary Dictionary of National Biography Vol 56 London Smith Elder amp Co a b c d e f g h i Robert Gunnis 1951 Dictionary of British Sculpture 1660 1851 The Abbey Library The Skipping Girl Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851 1951 University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII 2011 Retrieved 2 August 2011 Penny McCracken 1996 Sculptor Mary Thornycroft and Her Artist Children Woman s Art Journal 17 2 3 8 doi 10 2307 1358460 ISSN 0270 7993 JSTOR 1358460 Sculptures Mary Thornycroft and Abraham Kent Google Arts amp Culture Retrieved 19 May 2020 a b Proctor Nancy Thornycroft Mary Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 27368 Subscription or UK public library membership required Hart Davis Rupert Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 35953 Subscription or UK public library membership required Attribution nbsp This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Lee Sidney ed 1898 Thornycroft Mary Dictionary of National Biography Vol 56 London Smith Elder amp Co External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mary Thornycroft 2 artworks by or after Mary Thornycroft at the Art UK site Portraits of Mary Thornycroft nee Francis at the National Portrait Gallery London nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mary Thornycroft amp oldid 1160126169, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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