Lot Essay
Nollekens and his workshop are said to have produced over seventy replicas of this celebrated bust. Pitt refused to sit for the artist, so the likeness is taken from his death mask in 1806. The busts, sold at £120 each, and provided Nollekens with a steady income.
See Aileen Dawson, Portrait Sculpture, A catalogue of the British Museum Collection c.1675-1975, British Museum Press, 1999.
See Aileen Dawson, Portrait Sculpture, A catalogue of the British Museum Collection c.1675-1975, British Museum Press, 1999.