"William Huskisson (1770-1830). John Gibson, RA (1790-l866). 1836. Marble. Pimlico Gardens, off Grosvenor Rd, London SW1. [Click on images to enlarge them.]

Closer view of the upper part of the statue from both sides.

Another of Gibson's classically draped marble statues, this one in a little Thames-side park shows the statesman William Huskisson in a Roman senator's robes and a deeply thoughtful pose. Sir Robert Peel, who had been present when Huskisson was fatally injured by a train at the ceremonial opening of the Liverpool to Manchester railway, thought the sculptor had endowed his subject with an unmerited air of grandeur by portraying him like this. Gibson, however, responded: "I fancy 150 years hence people will not complain of that" (qtd. in Read 173). As Benedict Read goes on to point out, this just shows Gibson's attitude as a neo-classical sculptor who "aimed at presenting an image worthy virtually of eternity." Such an attitude, says Read, was "certainly still current " at this time (173-74). Unfortunately, though, one cannot count on appealing to later generations. In the next century Osbert Sitwell described the statue facetiously in terms of "Boredom rising from the bath" (qtd. in Baker 33).

Related Material

Photograph and text Jacqueline Banerjee 2010 [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.]

Bibliography

Baker, Margaret. London Statues and Monuments. Princess Risborough: Shire, 1995.

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


Last modified 19 November 2020