EDWARD ONSLOW FORD, R.A. (1852-1901)

A leading member of the New Sculpture movement, Onslow Ford was commissioned to produce a sculpture of Her Majesty Queen Victoria in 1898 to stand in Manchester. The last sculpture to depict the great monarch, it was originally planned to be sculpted in marble, however, the Queen herself is said to have suggested that the marble might not weather well in the smoky atmosphere of that great northern centre of industry. The portrait was ultimately cast in bronze but was not unveiled until after the queen's death in 1901. A study for the sculpture, in bust form, is in The Royal Collection, where it is recorded as 'intended only as a study, [it] was well received by Queen Victoria who commissioned several replicas.' and it would seem that this cast is taken from that model which stands today in St. George's Hall, Windsor Castle (RCIN 31615).