EDGAR GEORGE II PAPWORTH | BUST OF A NYMPH

Christie's South Kensington, 23 November 2010, lot 362

Noble collection, Italy

For Edgar George Papworth Junior sculpture ran in the family. His father (1809-1866) was a sculptor of the early Victorian period and his grandfather Thomas (1773-1814) and great-grandfather were well-known stuccoists, Thomas working often for the architect Sir William Chambers. In addition, his maternal grandfather was the famous sculptor, Edward Hodges Baily; best known as the sculptor of Horatio Nelson, atop his column in Trafalgar Square, London.

Edgar Junior excelled in creating sculptures of ‘ideal’ subjects, ever popular in the second half of the 19^th century. These explored themes such as innocents, maidenhood and images of an idealized Victorian vision of the world, such The Young Shrimper, or The Young Emigrant. He also had a successful career as a portrait sculptor.

The present serene bust of a young woman may be related to Edgar Junior’s model of The Startled Nymph, which was shown at the 1862 International Exhibition. It epitomizes the Victorian taste for images of innocent beauty. The bust is certainly indebted also to Edgar Junior’s grandfather’s work, such as Baily’s Eve listening to the voice in the Victoria & Albert Museum (inv. no. 468-1875).

RELATED LITERATURE

'Edgar George Papworth Jnr', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib7_1206705997, accessed 22 Jun 2020]