John Bacon the elderBritish, 1740–1799Unknown elderly man
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Not receiving at present
Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- 8 days ago
- In this state since
- Sep 25, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
About the sculpture
The name of the sitter for this terracotta portrait bust of an elderly man is unknown, although it has recently been suggested that it could be a portrait of the prison reformer John Howard (1726-1790), whose monument John Bacon the Elder executed for St Paul's Cathedral (information supplied by Dr Sarah Burnage, University of York; October 2008). The work was attributed to Bacon when it was acquired by the Museum in 1868.
Read on
John Bacon the Elder (1740-1799), a highly prolific and successful sculptor, one of his most celebrated works being the monument to Lord Chatham (Pitt the Elder) in Westminster Abbey. Bacon also designed sculpture to be made in Coadestone, an artificial stone which was widely used for garden and architectural sculpture in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. His son, John Bacon the Younger (1777-1859) was also a sculptor, and specialised in tombs using coloured marbles.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- 517-1868
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum: the museum's own open data · fetched 8 days ago
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
