George Wallis FSA (1811-1891)
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “George Wallis FSA (1811-1891)” 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
According to the obituary notice in the Art Journal (December 1891), George Wallis left the Birmingham School of Design in 1859 to join the staff of what was then the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A), where he became Keeper of the Art Collections from 1863 until just before his death in 1891. The obituarist noted that 'the present complete system of circulation of works of Art to provincial museums ... owes much to the late keeper of the Art division.'
Read on
Original acquisition information records that the Museum board was pleased to accept this bust as a gift from the subject's family 'in memorial of the valuable services rendered by Mr George Wallis to the Science and Art Department'. In a letter Wallis's children described the bust as 'a most admirable work and a striking likeness'. In British Sculpture and Sculptors of Today (1901) M. H. Spielmann recorded: 'In his portraiture Mr Toft is dexterous and quick, and his busts are life-like; it is that kind of work which pleases sitters, for, besides resemblance, there are character, refinement, and style.'
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- 30-1892
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
