Not currently on display at the V&A

Sir Archibald Macdonald

Bust
1818 (made)
Artist/Maker
Chantrey, Sir Francis (maker)
Place of origin
England (made)

Sir Archibald Macdonald (1747-1826) was an eminent judge and politician. In 1813 he retired from practising law and was given a baronetcy. Macdonald commissioned this bust from Chantrey in 1817, and it was completed the following year. Chantrey exhibited a bust of Sir Archibald Macdonald at the Royal Academy in 1820, presumably the present piece. It was bequeathed to the Museum by the British art historian Rupert Gunnis, who specialised in the history of post-medieval British sculpture.

Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey (1781-1842) was an English sculptor, painter, and patron. He was probably the most successful portrait sculptor of his day. Together with Flaxman Chantrey can be ranked as England's greatest sculptor engaging in portrait busts and statues. He was particularly skilled in carving drapery. On his death he left a fortune of £150,000 which was later bequeathed to the Royal Academy to be used for the 'Encouragement of British Fine Art in Painting and Sculpture'.


Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Portraits
Object type
Bust
TitleSir Archibald Macdonald (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Marble
Marble
Brief description
Bust, marble, of Sir Archibald MacDonald Bt., by Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey R.A., England, 1818
Physical description
Bust, marble. The sitter, whose hair is worn in ringlets over the ears, has a round necked gown and over his right shoulder, a strip of drapery. On a turned circular base in marble. Signed and dated on the back. Inscribed in the truncation at the back.
Dimensions
  • Height: 61cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'CHANTREY / SC: 1818' (at the back)
  • '[SI]R ARCH. MACDONALD' (on the truncation on the back)
Credit line
Bequeathed by Rupert Gunnis, Esq.
Object history
Purchased by Rupert Gunnis from Montague Marcussen Ltd, 98 Crawford Street, London. Bequeathed by Rupert Gunnis Esq, Hungershall Lodge, Tunbridge Wells, Kent in 1965.
Subject depicted
Macdonald, Archibald (Sir)
Summary
Sir Archibald Macdonald (1747-1826) was an eminent judge and politician. In 1813 he retired from practising law and was given a baronetcy. Macdonald commissioned this bust from Chantrey in 1817, and it was completed the following year. Chantrey exhibited a bust of Sir Archibald Macdonald at the Royal Academy in 1820, presumably the present piece. It was bequeathed to the Museum by the British art historian Rupert Gunnis, who specialised in the history of post-medieval British sculpture.

Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey (1781-1842) was an English sculptor, painter, and patron. He was probably the most successful portrait sculptor of his day. Together with Flaxman Chantrey can be ranked as England's greatest sculptor engaging in portrait busts and statues. He was particularly skilled in carving drapery. On his death he left a fortune of £150,000 which was later bequeathed to the Royal Academy to be used for the 'Encouragement of British Fine Art in Painting and Sculpture'.
Bibliographic references
  • Graves, A, The Royal Academy of Arts, a complete Dictionary of exhibitions....1769 to 1904, II, 1905, cat. no. 110, 1043
  • Yarrington, A et al. 'An Edition of the Ledger of Sir Francis Chantrey, R.A at the Royal Acadmey, 1809-1841', The Walpole Society LVI, p. 78, 60b
  • Bilbey, Diane with Trusted, Marjorie. British Sculpture 1470 to 2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: V& A Publications, 2002, pp. 234-5, cat. no. 358
  • Knox, T., ‘Portrait of a Collector: Rupert Gunnis at Hungershall Lodge and his Bequest to the Victoria and Albert Museum’, in: Sculpture Journal, II, 1998, p. 95, no. 24
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.64-1965

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Record createdAugust 14, 2006
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O127054/sir-archibald-macdonald-bust-chantrey-sir-francis/
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