Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey

Estate of John George Reddie (1862-1941), United Kingdom;

collection of John Emlyn Williams (1908-1963), United Kingdom, purchased in 1942;

private collection, United Kingdom;

by descent to the present owner

This sophisticated bust, carved by one of the most prolific sculptors of the Regency era in Britain, Francis Chantrey, portrays the Scottish inventor, engineer and chemist, James Watt. Chantrey was renowned for carving magnificent portrait busts of important figures in Britain, including of members of the royal family, as well as memorials and monuments. Chantrey was elected to the Royal Academy in 1818 and knighted by William IV in 1835.

The bust of James Watt is considered as one of his most successful portraits. Chantrey produced several versions between 1814 and 1816, including the plaster bust in the Birmingham art gallery, which dates to 1818 (inv. no. PG 347). Chantrey was also commissioned a large, seated figure of James Watt for his memorial in St Mary’s Church in Birmingham.

RELATED LITERATURE

S. Dunkerley, Francis Chantrey Sculptor: From Norton to Knighthood, Sheffield, 1995, pp. 37-38, 64