Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Alexander Pope (1688-1744)” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
This figure is one of a series of historical portraits of 'Worthies' (deceased individuals of unusual ability) in statuette form that were produced in lead by Cheere. A group of ten such subjects in bronzed plaster that were formerly at Kirkleatham Hall, Yorkshire, are now owned by the Castle Museum, York (they are on permanent loan to York City Art Gallery). They comprise five poets (Homer, Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, John Milton and Pope), two painters (Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck), an architect and designer (Inigo Jones), a scientist (Isaac Newton) and a philosopher (John Locke). Given the strong literary bias of this group, they were probably intended for display in a private library. The V&A also has a lead figure of Edmund Spenser that is ascribed to John Cheere (inv. no. A3-1955).
Read on
John Cheere (1709-1787) is the younger brother of the sculptor Sir Henry Cheere and was apprenticed to a haberdasher for a period of seven years from 1725, but later joined his brother's studio. He is most noted for the production of lead figures, which he executed at his own studio at Hyde Park Corner from 1737. Cheere seems to have taken over the yard previously occupied by the Nost family. He also produced plaster figures and busts of eminent contemporaries, including those made for the Turner family at Kirkleatham.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- A.4-1955
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
