"John Gibson," by Margaret Sarah Carpenter (1793-1892)

John Gibson (1790-1866), by Margaret Sarah Carpenter

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John Gibson (1790-1866)

Margaret Sarah Carpenter (1793-1892)

1857

Oil on canvas

H 92.1 x W 71.1 cm

Purchased, 1867. On long-term loan to Bodelwyddan Castle, North Wales

Close in age to Carpenter herself, John Gibson was now a well-established sculptor much esteemed in cultured society yet remarkably unworldly and straightforward in himself: "in single-hearted, courageous truthfulness, in indomitable power of resolution, and in a certain dignity of self-respect, no one ever arrived more fully at man’s estate," wrote Lady Eastlake in 1870, on introducing his biography (3). [Commentary continues below.]

Lady Eastlake continues, in her glowing appreciation of the humbly-born Welshman who had achieved such prominence, by praising his "generous recognition of the merits of others," and "ready forgiveness of injuries." She tells us from her own personal knowledge of the sculptor that he was not only free of envy or jealousy, but "equally delivered from irritability of nerve or temper.... Gibson emphatically possessed his soul in patience and peace. He was habitually serene in temperament, like his own statues in repose; though there was fire and passion beneath, as some of his works might also exemplify" (4). Margaret Carpenter seems also to have warmed to his character, bringing out in her portrait of him the sculptor's capacity for patient observation and deep insight, his strength of will, and even something of the unruly spark of his genius. Slightly disheveled ("his tailor's bill cost him very little," says Lady Eastlake, tongue in cheek (7)), in Carpenter's depiction he still has an attractive touch of the fiery Celt about him.

Image downloaded, with thanks, from the gallery's website. [Click on it for a larger version.] Formatting and text by Jacqueline Banerjee.

Bibliography

Eastlake, Lady, ed. Life of John Gibson, RA. Sculptor. London: Longman, Green, & Co., 1870. Google Books. Free ebook.

John Gibson. National Portrait Gallery, London. Web. 20 October 2024.

Created 20 October 2024