Queen Victoria
Thomas Thornycroft (1814-1885)
Dated 1869, unveiled in 1870
Bronze on a granite pedestal
St George's Plateau, Liverpool
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Photograph, caption, and commentary below by Jacqueline Banerjee. 2008.
Commentary
This striking sculpture of the young Queen Victoria riding side-saddle was commissioned to match the one of Prince Albert already completed by Thornycroft and unveiled in 1866. The Queen's hat is generously plumed, and, appropriately for this position outside St George's Hall, she bears the St. George's riband as a sash across her breast. The fine detail of the statue is most easily seen from below in the "embroidered" crown and scrolling, as well as the fringe, of the ceremonial saddle-blanket. In a description from the Art Journal, the horse is seen as "full of impatient action, which tells on the sway of the figure; an effect difficult to express well in sculpture" (qtd. in Cavanagh 95). The Queen holds what looks like a small sceptre, but is actually the handle of a riding crop, the rest of which has been lost. The drape of her voluminous skirt can be seen in the right-hand profile.
According to Bob Speel, this was "the piece that made [Thomas Thornycroft's] name." Compare it with his equestrian statuette of the Queen from 1853. The pillar visible in this photograph supports G. A. Lawson's nearby statue of Wellington.
References
Cavanagh, Terry. Public Sculpture of Liverpool. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1996.
Speel, Bob. "St George's Hall and St John's Gardens, Liverpool." Viewed 28 December 2008.
Last modified 6 January 2009