Lot Essay
Benjamin Edward Spence (1822-1866) was born in Liverpool, the son of the sculptor William Spence. Through his father's friendship with John Gibson, Benjamin travelled to Rome in 1846. In Rome Spence joined the studio of Wyatt, while simultaneously receiving guidance from Gibson. On Wyatt's death in 1850, Spence completed his works and took over the studio. He spent most of his working life in Rome, visiting England annually for the Royal Academy shows. He exhibited at the Royal Academy himself from 1849 to 1866. Though he executed monuments and portrait busts, he is primarily celebrated for his 'ideal' figures in marble, such as his Psyche, Venus and Cupid and Highland Mary.
The present marble group The Angel's Whisper is drawn from a literary source, the eponymous poem by Samuel Lover. The poem tells of an Irish belief that when a child smiles in its sleep it is talking with the angels, and the mother watches her child:
"Her beads while she numbered,
The baby still slumbered,
And smiled in her face as she bended her knee;
Oh! blessed be that warning,
My child, thy sleep adorning,
For I know that the angels are whispering with thee."
In the taste of the time, Spence drew other sculptural subjects from literature, such as The Lady of the Lake from the eponymous poem by Scott, works which are enhanced with knowledge of their lyrical sources.
It has generally been held that the primary version of the present group was the 1859 dated marble executed for the Liverpool merchant James Smith of Barkley House, Seaforth and now in the Palm House Sefton Park, Liverpool. However, among various exhibits by Spence in the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition of 1857, a marble group was loaned by H. N. Sandbach and was included as number 3 as 'The Favourite'. It is likely that this entry relates to the present Sandbach marble, and consequently would pre-date the Smith version by two years. Henry Sandbach was also a Liverpool merchant, his wife Margaret, was the grand-daughter of William Roscoe the Liverpool art collector, and together they had visited Rome in 1838 and had commissioned sculptures from John Gibson. The family subsequently built a sculpture gallery in their new home Hafodunas to display their collection, and where the present Angel's Whisper was also located. Possibly through the Gibson and Liverpool connection, Sandbach would have commissioned the present marble, exhibited it in Manchester, where it would have been admired by his compatriot Smith. The marble was sold in the Hafodunos sale of 1969 and subsequently re-acquired by the family.
A graceful and classical work, The Angel's Whisper reveals Spence's mastery of technique. The classical style is softened by a delicate romanticism and combined with an accurate knowledge of anatomy. The infant is shown in a naturalistic slumbering pose, while the angel hovers tentatively above him forming a cohesive and balanced structure. An unusual and poetic subject, The Angel's Whisper is a fine mid 19th century work by Benjamin Spence, comparable to two of his other works the Psyche in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool and the Lady of the Lake in the Royal Collection, Buckingham Palace.
The present marble group The Angel's Whisper is drawn from a literary source, the eponymous poem by Samuel Lover. The poem tells of an Irish belief that when a child smiles in its sleep it is talking with the angels, and the mother watches her child:
"Her beads while she numbered,
The baby still slumbered,
And smiled in her face as she bended her knee;
Oh! blessed be that warning,
My child, thy sleep adorning,
For I know that the angels are whispering with thee."
In the taste of the time, Spence drew other sculptural subjects from literature, such as The Lady of the Lake from the eponymous poem by Scott, works which are enhanced with knowledge of their lyrical sources.
It has generally been held that the primary version of the present group was the 1859 dated marble executed for the Liverpool merchant James Smith of Barkley House, Seaforth and now in the Palm House Sefton Park, Liverpool. However, among various exhibits by Spence in the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition of 1857, a marble group was loaned by H. N. Sandbach and was included as number 3 as 'The Favourite'. It is likely that this entry relates to the present Sandbach marble, and consequently would pre-date the Smith version by two years. Henry Sandbach was also a Liverpool merchant, his wife Margaret, was the grand-daughter of William Roscoe the Liverpool art collector, and together they had visited Rome in 1838 and had commissioned sculptures from John Gibson. The family subsequently built a sculpture gallery in their new home Hafodunas to display their collection, and where the present Angel's Whisper was also located. Possibly through the Gibson and Liverpool connection, Sandbach would have commissioned the present marble, exhibited it in Manchester, where it would have been admired by his compatriot Smith. The marble was sold in the Hafodunos sale of 1969 and subsequently re-acquired by the family.
A graceful and classical work, The Angel's Whisper reveals Spence's mastery of technique. The classical style is softened by a delicate romanticism and combined with an accurate knowledge of anatomy. The infant is shown in a naturalistic slumbering pose, while the angel hovers tentatively above him forming a cohesive and balanced structure. An unusual and poetic subject, The Angel's Whisper is a fine mid 19th century work by Benjamin Spence, comparable to two of his other works the Psyche in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool and the Lady of the Lake in the Royal Collection, Buckingham Palace.