Two cherub heads

This is the original model for part of the bronze frieze of cherubs on the architrave of the monument to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, in St Paul's Cathedral, London. The original competitive sketch model produced by Stevens for the Wellington monument commission is also in the Museum's collections (inv. no. 44-1878). It is the only one to survive out of a total of 83 submissions. Although Stevens came equal fifth in the competition, the winner being the Scots sculptor William Calder Marshall (1813-1894), he was eventually given the commission as his design was felt to be more in keeping with the interior of St Paul's.

A sculptor, designer and painter, Alfred Stevens (1817/18- 1875) rejected contemporary distinctions between fine art and design. From 1850 to 1857 he was chief designer to Hoole & Co., Sheffield, where he produced award-winning designs for metalwork, majolica, terracotta ornaments and chimney-pieces.

Perhaps his two greatest works were the decorations for the dining-room at Dorchester House, London (about 1856), for which he made countless drawings inspired by the Italian High Renaissance style, in particular the work of Michelangelo and the monument to the Duke of Wellington for St Paul's Cathedral, London, which was completed after his death. The two allegorical groups from this monument made a lasting impact on the New Sculpture movement. The influence of the Italian Renaissance is evident in much of Steven's work, and is perhaps best reflected in the Wellington monument.