Christopher Moore (1790-1863) was born in Dublin and lived and worked there at the begining of his career. He moved to London in 1820 where he attended the Royal Academy Schools and set up a studio. He exhibited regularly at the British Institution until 1834 and at the Royal Academy until 1860. Moore was most celebrated for his talents as a portraitist, and the majority of his exhibits were portraits of worthies of the day. The present portrait reveals his mastery in this field, imbuing life and likeness into the rigid marble. The strong characterisation of the face, the intent gaze of the eyes, the slight frown, the semi parted lips and the turn of the head add movement and life to the portrait. The contemporary shirt and the sweep of the classical cloak add grandeur to the bust, and combine with the physiognomy to create a vigorous image.
Sir Richard John Griffith Bart. (1784-1878) was the celebrated Irish geologist and civil engineer. Moore executed the marble portait in 1859 and exhibited it at the Royal Academy in 1860. The previous year he had exhibited a model bust of the same sitter at the Royal Academy, presumably this was a plaster, and may be the one now in the Royal Dublin Society. Griffith, known as the 'father of Irish Geology', began his career as a geologist early and with great success, being elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh at the age of 23. In 1812 he was appointed mining engineer and professor of geology to the Royal Dublin Society, subsequently he became the goverment inspector of mines in Ireland. He published his Geological Map of Ireland in 1815, revised in 1836, for which he gained the Wollaston medal of the Geological Society in 1854. In 1858 Lord Palmerston rewarded his public services by creating him a baronet, the present portrait, commissioned in 1858, was probably intended to commemorate this honour and his successful career, appropriately by an Irish sculptor.