George III

This marble portrait of King George III (reigned 1760-1820) is signed and dated on the back 'From the Life / by / Jan Nost Sculp / 1767'. John Nost the Younger (1713-1780), who was born into the van Ost (van Nost) family of sculptors, was trained in London by Henry Scheemakers (1670-1748). He travelled to Dublin in 1749, and spent much of his subsequent working life in Ireland. He executed a number of portrait busts and public monuments, including a statue of George III for Dublin City Hall. His bust of the famous actor-manager David Garrick (1717-1779) was apparently reproduced in many copies. Following the death of Garrick's widow, Eva, in 1822, the contents of the couple's country villa and their apartment in the Thames-side Adelphi, London, was sold at auction in the capital in 1823. Intriguingly, the sale included a bust described as 'V. Nost, 1764. An early bust of his late Majesty, George III'.