BY WILLIAM BEHNES, 1831

Details

AN ENGLISH SCULPTED WHITE MARBLE BUST OF JOHN SCOTT, 1ST EARL OF ELDON
BY WILLIAM BEHNES, 1831
Modelled in classical drapery, on waisted socle, inscribed 'SIR JOHN SCOTT EARL OF ELDON W. BEHNES.SCULP.LONDON 1831'
29 in. (73.7 cm.) high

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Lot Essay

William Behnes (d. 1864) found fame at a young age. He first exhibited at the R.A. in 1815 and quickly accumulated a following with many commissions. The Art Journal, referring to a bust of Clarkson, wrote that they had 'never seen anything finer in modern or ancient art'. While H. Weekes was inclined to rate him as the superior of Chantrey in the field of portrait sculpture. Sadly Behnes, in middle age, fell into financial difficulties and died a pauper.

A bust of Lord Eldon, executed in 1819 by William Behnes, is now in Londons Inner Temple (See R. Gunnis, Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851, London, 1951, p.46)

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