Bust of Frederic, Lord Leighton, P.R.A.

Leighton, friend and mentor to Brock, owed much of his success to Brock’s technical skill in turning his modellos of Athlete struggling with a Python and The Sluggard into full-scale bronze. Brock’s first portrait of Leighton was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1881 (no. 1559). It is undraped and more classical in style than the present depiction where Leighton is shown ennobled with academic vigour, wearing his Oxford University Doctor of Civil Law robes, and gold medal of the Royal Academy, of which he had become President in 1878. This bust was originated by Carl Jacobsen who had in 1887 commissioned a marble replica of Leighton’s Athlete struggling with a Python for the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, and wished to display portraits of those sculptors whose work was represented in the museum. The marble version of Athlete struggling with a Python (de-accessioned by the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in 1974 and sold from the Forbes Collection; Christie’s, London, 19 February 2003, lot 28), was carved in large part by Frederick Pomeroy supervised by Leighton in Brock’s studio. When it was complete, Brock oversaw the transportation to Denmark. Leighton recommended that Brock sculpt his bust and in due course a marble version of this work was sent to the Ny Carlsberg Glypothek (also de-accessioned and sold). Brock submitted a bronze version (83 cm.) high as his diploma work for his election as a full member of the Royal Academy in 1891, but had some difficulty obtaining sittings from Leighton, due to his travel commitments and it was not shown until the summer exhibition of 1893 (no. 1717). It remains in the Royal Academy (inv. 03/1682). Another full-size bronze example was presented by Brock to the Athenaeum, London and another to Scarborough (Leighton’s birthplace) by the Royal Academy Leighton Fund in 1916. The present lot is one of a reduced-size (40 cm. high) bronze edition authorised by Brock who himself presented one such example to the Leighton House Museum in 1897. Another is at the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth, and one in the Royal Collection was acquired by Edward VII when Prince of Wales for fifty guineas, at a charity auction in 1900 (inv. RCIN 2146).