George IV

Samuel Joseph (1791-1850) was a pupil of the sculptor and wax modeller Peter Rouw; he also trained at the Royal Academy Schools in London. In 1823 he went to Edinburgh, and became one of the founder-members of the Royal Scottish Academy; he introduced a more naturalist, less classicist, style of portrait sculpture which was admired in Scotland at the time. He returned to London in 1828, but despite some prestigious commissions, including the monument to the slavery abolitionist William Wilberforce in Westminster Abbey, he died in some poverty.

Materials & Making

Marble busts were among the most prestigious types of portrait undertaken in Britain during the 18th century. The marble, a relatively expensive material, was imported, usually from Italy via The Netherlands, since there are no marble quarries in this country. The skills needed to carve marble might also be learnt abroad, where an aspiring artist would probably gain his most important training assisting an established sculptor.