“Oliver Goldsmith” by John Henry Foley (1818-1874), R. A.

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Oliver Goldsmith

John Henry Foley (1818-74), R. A.

1864

Bronze

In front of the main entrance of Trinity College, Dublin

Detail (opens in new window)

The novelist, poet and playwright Oliver Goldsmith, seen here holding an open book and a pencil, is one of two "elegant" bronze statues on the lawns outside the main entrance of Trinity College, Dublin (Casey 391). The openwork on the neckerchief is particularly fine. Goldsmith is to the right of the entrance, and on the lawn to the left stands the figure of another important alumnus, also” by Foley: Edmund Burke.

Photograph, caption, and commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee, 2009

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL.]

Benedict Read writes that the universities "were prominent institutions in the patronage of sculptures. This could be simply a matter of placing a professor on record with a bust, or it could be a more substantial simulacrum of a noted alumnus or official" (123). Other fine sculptures grace the grounds, including (from a rather later period), Goscombe John's memorial to William Lecky, MP looking across the College's Parliament Square.

Perhaps Foley's best-known work in Dublin is the O'Connell Monument in O'Connell Street, Dublin, completed after his death” by the young Thomas Brock.

Bibliography

Casey, Christine. The Buildings of Ireland: Dublin (The City within the Grand and Royal Canals and the Circular Road, with the Phoenix Park). New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2005.

Read, Benedict. Victorian Sculpture. New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 1982.

Last modified 27 July 2009