BY JOSEPH GOTT, ROME, CIRCA 1830

Born in Yorkshire in 1876, Joseph Gott (d.1860) was apprenticed to Sir John Flaxman from 1798 to 1802. He joined the Royal Academy Schools in 1805 and won various medals and awards. In 1822, sponsored by his patron, the President of the Royal Academy Sir Thomas Lawrence, he travelled to Rome, and apart from visits home settled there for the rest of his life. Rather than the austere neo-classicism of many of his contemporaries, he adopted a sweeter, more romantic style. Although he did execute sculpture on a monumental scale, his most effective work was in small-scale terracotta and marble groups, and he was particularly successful with groups of dogs and children. His close observation of animal behaviour and anatomy was transferred into the sculptures with great sensitivity and realism. The present group of a spaniel and kitten was first produced in 1827; it was apparently acquired by James Watt the inventor, of Aston Hall, Birmingham (sold at Christie's 17 April 1849 for 33 12s.). The number of almost identical versions in existence points to the popularity of the subject; three versions were shown at the exhibition 'Joseph Gott Sculptor', at Temple Newsam House, Leeds and the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool in 1972 (Nos. 58, G94, G95).