Bust
1881 (sculpted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Sir Henry Irving (1838-1905) was one of Britain's greatest actor-managers, a man who dedicated his life to the theatre, especially London's Lyceum Theatre where he produced and starred in some of the finest spectacular productions of Shakespeare and contemporary drama that the British theatre had witnessed. This bust by the English sculptor Edward Onslow Ford portrays him in the title role of Hamlet.
Irving was born in Cornwall and spent fifteen years acting in repertory from 1856 until 1871, when he made his name at the Lyceum Theatre in The Bells. In his years in repertory he played over six hundred different roles and for the next 31 years he starred at the Lyceum, holding audiences spellbound, and setting new standards of production and performance that made him a legend.
Edward Onslow Ford (1852-1902) trained abroad but set up a studio in London as a portrait sculptor in marble and terracotta. He became a Royal Academician in 1885 and sculpted Irving several times, as well as Queen Victoria and many other leading personalities of the day.
Irving was born in Cornwall and spent fifteen years acting in repertory from 1856 until 1871, when he made his name at the Lyceum Theatre in The Bells. In his years in repertory he played over six hundred different roles and for the next 31 years he starred at the Lyceum, holding audiences spellbound, and setting new standards of production and performance that made him a legend.
Edward Onslow Ford (1852-1902) trained abroad but set up a studio in London as a portrait sculptor in marble and terracotta. He became a Royal Academician in 1885 and sculpted Irving several times, as well as Queen Victoria and many other leading personalities of the day.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Modelled plaster |
| Brief description | Plaster bust of Sir Henry Irving (1838-1905) as Hamlet, 1881, by Edward Onslow Ford RA (1852-1901). |
| Physical description | Plaster bust of Sir Henry Irving as Hamlet, looking down to his left, on a square-section integral plinth. He is shown is his costume for the character, a wide-brimmed artist's hat, a cape around his neck and shoulders and a frilled-edge shirt visible at the neck. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | E. Onslow Ford 1881 (Incised in plaster on the left shoulder at the back) |
| Credit line | Given by The Reverend Dr. W. Sidney Scott |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Sir Henry Irving (1838-1905) was one of Britain's greatest actor-managers, a man who dedicated his life to the theatre, especially London's Lyceum Theatre where he produced and starred in some of the finest spectacular productions of Shakespeare and contemporary drama that the British theatre had witnessed. This bust by the English sculptor Edward Onslow Ford portrays him in the title role of Hamlet. Irving was born in Cornwall and spent fifteen years acting in repertory from 1856 until 1871, when he made his name at the Lyceum Theatre in The Bells. In his years in repertory he played over six hundred different roles and for the next 31 years he starred at the Lyceum, holding audiences spellbound, and setting new standards of production and performance that made him a legend. Edward Onslow Ford (1852-1902) trained abroad but set up a studio in London as a portrait sculptor in marble and terracotta. He became a Royal Academician in 1885 and sculpted Irving several times, as well as Queen Victoria and many other leading personalities of the day. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.292-1980 |
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| Record created | October 3, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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