The represented John Sheepshanks (1787-1863) was an art collector and generous public benefactor who gave his large collection of paintings to the Museum in 1856, for which a new gallery, known as the Sheepshanks gallery, designed by Captain Francis Fowke, was erected in 1857. This bust is the work of the Irish sculptor John Foley (1818-1874) and was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1857.

John Henry Foley (1818-1874) was an Irish sculptor, active in England. He was the most important sculptor of mid-Victorian Britain. Although his close contemporary Alfred Stevens has overshadowed him in reputation, Foley’s achievements were more substantial and more influential on the sculptural direction of that time. He was the son of a grocer and was educated at the Royal Dublin Society’s art schools (ca. 1831-4) and at the Royal Academy, London (1835-8). Foley was commissioned to execute marble statues for the Houses of Parliament of two 17th-century statesmen: John Hampden (1847) and John Selden (1854). Foley had a particular reputation for his technical excellence, unmatched by any of his contemporaries. He was one of the few sculptors left untouched by the criticisms of Francis Palgrave. This status is reflected in the fact that he was the only sculptor to contribute two major sculptures to the Albert Memorial (completed 1876) in Kensington Gardens, London, which were the marble group Asia (1864-71) and the bronze statue of Prince Albert.