Percy, Samuel, approximately 1753-1819, Horatio Nelson, circa 1810
- Title(s):
- Horatio Nelson.
- Published/Created:
- England, circa 1810.
- Physical Description:
- 1 sculpture : painted wax ; figure 12 cm high x 9 cm high, in shadow box 31 x 28 x 9 cm
- Holdings:
- Rare Books and ManuscriptsRBW.CS 2bYale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund[Request]
- Copyright Status:
- Copyright Information
- Full Orbis Record:
- http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/13059580
- Classification:
- Three-Dimensional Artifacts
- Notes:
- In the first decade of the 19th century, Samuel Percy (1750-1820) created likenesses of many of the royal and political figures of the day, exhibiting a series of portraits of figures across the ideological spectrum at the Royal Academy in 1803, and in 1804 portraits of members of the Royal family, who were regular clients. The Duke of Wellington, Pitt the Younger, Charles James Fox, Lord Mansfield and Spencer Perceval were all created in multiples during that time. Percy had a long-standing interest in Viscount Nelson. In 1806 Percy submitted a model for the Guild Hall monument to Nelson; James Smith won the commission.
Roscoe, I. A biographical dictionary of sculptors in Britain, 1660-1851
Pyke, E.J. A biographical dictionary of wax modellers, p. 104
Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, sculpted in stained and painted wax, 3/4 round, high relief. Probably taken from the 1797 life portrait by Lemuel Abbott, depicting Nelson in rear-admiral's uniform wearing the Star and Ribbon of the Bath and the Naval Gold Medal, awarded for his victory at the Battle of St Vincent, 1797 (see: National Portrait Gallery, NPG 394). The sculpture is set in the original heavily embossed and gilded shadow box.
The sculpture appears to be one of two extant models of Percy's Nelson, the other held by the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. When sculpting famous figures, Percy made several; there are at least seven Charles James Fox portraits known, including versions in the Yale Center for British Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Roscoe lists Nelson as a known subject of Samuel Percy but notes the location of only one. - Subject Terms:
- Nelson, Horatio Nelson, Viscount, 1758–1805 -- Portraits.
- Form/Genre:
- Portrait sculpture.
Waxworks (sculpture)
Reliefs (sculptures) - Export:
- XML
- IIIF Manifest:
- JSON
A Decade of Gifts and Acquisitions (Yale Center for British Art, 2017-06-01 - 2017-08-13) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]
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