The Boy Scout by William Goscombe John, 1860-1952. 1910. Bronze. 82.0 cm. Collection: Amgueddfa Cymru Caerdydd [National Museum of Wales, Cardiff] Accession number: NMW A 126. Gift of Lady Webb. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
“By 1910, Goscombe John had enjoyed a decade of popular and critical success, winning many commissions for major public monuments, particularly in Wales. He became a Royal Academician in 1909, and was knighted in 1911. This figure was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1911. It is a portrait of Basil Webb, the only son of Henry Webb, of Llwynarthau, Monmouthshire, a Liberal MP and mining engineer, who was a director of David Davies's Ocean Coal Company. The modelling, pose and scale of this figure recall Andrea del Verrocchio's David. The sitter served as a 2nd Lieutenant with the Welsh Guards during the First World War and was killed in December 1917. This sculpture was included in An Exhibition of Works by Certain Modern Artists of Welsh Birth or Extraction in 1913-14” (Museum label).
Photograph at left” by the museum, which retains copyright; photograph at right” by Robert Freidus. formatting by George P. Landow. Readers of the Victorian Web may wish to visit the Museum website.]
Last modified 31 March 2012