Mother and Child

The composition of John Tweed's bronze is inspired by and closely resembles in form, content and spirit, Auguste Rodin's The Young Mother for which the Museum holds a plaster sketch (Museum no. A.25-1924). Tweed admired Rodin's work greatly and was a staunch supporter of Rodin in England. He visited him over many years and became known as the 'English Rodin'. Tweed played a vital role in raising funds by public subscription to purchase the monumental bronze St John the Baptist by Rodin for the Museum in 1902 (Museum no. 601-1902) and negotiated with the Museum over Rodin's gift in 1914 of eighteen of his finest works. Tweed and his family frequently stayed at Rodin's studio in Meudon, the Villa des Brillants, and Rodin stayed with the Tweed family in Chelsea when visiting London.