Sappho. John Gibson, RA 1790-l866. c.1834. Plaster. Sculpture shelf on the Sackler Wing Landing, Royal Academy, London. [Click on images to enlarge them.]

In 1864, John Gibson wrote to the President of the Academy (then, Sir Charles Eastlake) saying that he wished to follow the examples of his masters, Canova in Italy and Thorwaldsen in Denmark, and leave "all the models of my work executed in marble, with the chief part of my fortune, to the Royal Academy." He expressed the hope that "the collection of my models seen together would be of use to the young sculptors as to style" (qtd. in Read 33). A row of these models (including one figure in marble) now makes an impressive welcome at the top of the glass stairs of the Sackler Wing, which was added in 1991.

Other images of this work

Photographs and text Jacqueline Banerjee, 2010. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite it in a print one]

Bibliography

Information on the base of statue

Read, Benedict. Victorian Sculpture. New Haven & London: Yale, 1982.


Last modified 27 July 2010