David Livingstone (1813-1873)

Amelia Robertson Hill (née Paton), 1820-1904

1875

Bronze on a stone pedestal

Princes Street Gardens East, Edinburgh

Although Benedict Read gives the date of this work as 1876, the year incised on it is 1875, and one dependable source says that it was exhibited at the Royal Academy as early as 1869 (see Read 117 and "Item Record 12850"; but the latter date seems very unlikely). Livingstone holds out a Bible in one hand, and has a kind of axe in the other (not a walking stick, as at first appears). At his belt are a compass and pistol. A lion-skin with a very realistic head is draped on a tropical tree-trunk beside him, suggesting the perils of his expeditions. [continued below]

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Photograph , text and commentary 2009/10” by Jacqueline Banerjee

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