This is sketch model is an early study for the group "Truth plucking out the Tongue of Falsehood" on the Wellington Monument in St. Paul's Cathedral.
A sculptor, designer and painter, Alfred Stevens (1817/18- 1875) rejected contemporary distinctions between fine art and design. From 1850 to 1857 he was chief designer to Hoole & Co., Sheffield, where he produced award-winning designs for metalwork, majolica, terracotta ornaments and chimney-pieces. Perhaps his two greatest works were the decorations for the dining-room at Dorchester House, London (about 1856), for which he made countless drawings inspired by the Italian High Renaissance style, in particular the work of Michelangelo and the monument to the Duke of Wellington for St Paul's Cathedral, London, which was completed after his death. The two allegorical groups from this monument made a lasting impact on the New Sculpture movement.
The influence of the Italian Renaissance is evident in much of Steven's work, and is perhaps best reflected in the Wellington monument.

After the death of the 1st Duke of Wellington in 1852, the government announced that a competition was to be held for the design for a monument to commemorate him. Although Stevens's model came fifth in the competition, which was won by William Calder Marshall (1813-1894), it was actually judged more suitable to the monument's setting, which was to be in St Paul's Cathedral, and he was therefore awarded the commission. The monument, which was not unveiled until 1912, 37 years after the artist's death, was completed by his pupil Hugh Stannus (1840-1908).