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Date : 1859
Material : Marble
| Item 9 on 10
European Painting
Sculpture (Bust)
Area related
England
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| Description |  |
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Henry Weekes became apprenticed to Behnes in 1822, and in 1823 entered the RA Schools. In 1827 he became an assistant to Chantrey. This proved a good move, as on the death of that famous sculptor, Weekes took over his studio, and finished off some of his master's incomplete statues - an instant route to respectability. One of these works was the Wellington by the Royal Exchange in London.
Weekes developed a speciality in portrait sculpture, including producing the first (1838) bust of Victoria after she became queen. As well as many other portraits, he also designed full figures, e.g. Charles II for the House of Lords, and monuments, including that of Shelley at Prior Church, Christchurch, Hants, and Bishop Sumner at Winchester.
Mary Seacole (1805-1881) was an extraordinary Jamaican woman of mixed race whose medical services to British troops on the front line during the Crimean War made her a household name in Victorian England. Her importance to Jamaican history to the establishment of the female presence in British health professions was enormous. This bust combines naturalistic portraiture with whimsical and highly innovative design elements-such as the palm-leaf socle from which the subject appears to grow.
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