“The Late Dean Vaughan” by Sir William Goscombe John


The Late Dean Vaughan by Sir William Goscombe John. Marble, life-size. Installed on Vaughan's tomb-chest in a canopied recess in the north choir-aisle of Llandaff Cathedral, S. Wales, in 1900. [Click on image to enlarge it.]

Charles John Vaughan (1816-1897) had been one of Dr Arnold's favoured boys at Rugby, but had been forced to resign his own headmastership at Harrow after an allegation that he had written an inappropriate letter to a pupil. Nevertheless, he achieved prominence later on as the Dean of Llandaff Cathedral, where he founded the choir school in 1880, and became generally "a major figure in Welsh life" (Roach). In particular, he played a big part in the establishment of the University College in Cardiff in 1883, serving as its president from 1894-96. Goscombe John, as a native of Cardiff who did a great deal of work in the area, was the obvious person to sculpt his effigy, which shows the Dean slumbering peacefully after all his labours. The work was "much-admired" (Williamson 24).

Source: Royal Academy Pictures, p.18. text by Jacqueline Banerjee. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the source and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite it in a print one.]

Bibliography

Roach, John. "Vaughan, Charles John (1816-1897)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online ed. Web. 1 February 2012.

Royal Academy Pictures, 1900. London: Cassell, 1900. Internet Archive. Web. 1 February 2012.

Williamson, E. W. The Story of Llandaff Cathedral. Gloucester and London: British Publishing Co., (?)1921. Internet Archive. Web. 1 February 2012.


Last modified 1 February 2012