John Henry Foley | |
|---|---|
 John Henry Foley in 1863, by Ernest Edwards | |
| Born | 24 May 1818 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 27 August 1874 (aged 56) Hampstead, London |
| Resting place | St. Paul's Cathedral, London |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Alma mater |
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| Known for | Sculpture |
John Henry Foley RA (24 May 1818 – 27 August 1874), often referred to as J. H. Foley, was an Irish sculptor, working in London. He is best known for his statues of Daniel O'Connell for the O'Connell Monument in Dublin, and of Prince Albert for the Albert Memorial in London and for a number of works in India.[1]
While much contemporary Victorian sculpture was considered lacking in quality and vision, Foley's work was often regarded as exceptional for its technical excellence and life-like qualities.[2] He was considered the finest equestrian sculptor of the Victorian era. His equestrian statue of Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge for Kolkata was considered, with its dynamic pose of horse and rider, to be the most important equestrian statue cast in Britain at the time. His 1874 equestrian statue of Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet for Kolkata was also widely praised and, like the Hardinge statue, was also considered an important symbol of British imperial rule in India.[3] Foley's pupil Thomas Brock completed several of Foley's commissions after his death, including the statue of Prince Albert for the Albert Memorial.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 599.
- ^ "Foley, John Henry". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 23 September 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9786. Retrieved 4 October 2023. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Martina Droth, Jason Edwards & Michael Hatt (2014). Sculpture Victorious: Art in the Age of Invention, 1837-1901. Yale Center for British Art, Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300208030.