Gilbert, Alfred, 1854–1934

Eros – Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain 1892–1893

Alfred Gilbert (1854–1934)

(b London, 12 Aug. 1854; d London, 4 Nov. 1934). British sculptor and metalworker. He studied at the Royal Academy Schools and the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris (1875–8), after which he spent six years in Rome. He returned to England in 1884 and was soon given major public commissions, the best known of which is his Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in Piccadilly Circus (1887–93). The celebrated figure of Eros that surmounts the fountain is cast in aluminium, one of the earliest examples of the use of this metal in sculpture. Its light weight allowed Gilbert to achieve a much more delicately poised pose than if he had been restricted to the traditional medium of bronze. Initially the fountain was heavily criticized (in 1893 it was described in 'The Times' as a "dripping, sickening mess"), but by the end of the First World War it had become a much-loved symbol of London.

Text source: The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford University Press)

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Biography on Wikipedia

Art History Research net (AHR net)

Alfred Gilbert was born in London, England on 12 August 1854. He studied at the Heatherley's School of Fine Art in London in 1872–73 and at the Royal Academy Schools in London from 1873 to 1875. He also worked as an assistant in the studios of the sculptors Matthew Noble, William Gibbs Roger and Edgar Boehm. At the advice of Boehm, in 1875 he went to Paris where he studied under the sculptor Pierre-Jules Cavelier at the École des Beaux-Arts. During his time in Paris, Gilbert produced his first major work ‘The Kiss of Victory’ in 1878–81. Soon after his return to England in 1884 he began to receive a number of significant commissions, the first being the Fawcett Memorial in Westminster Abbey in 1885. Others included a Jubilee Memorial statue of Queen Victoria for the Great Hall of Winchester Castle (1887). His most important commission is probably the Shaftesbury memorial statue 'Eros' installed at Piccadilly Circus, London in 1893.

In addition to his work as a sculptor, Gilbert was also a fine goldsmith. His commissions included a mayoral chain for the city of Preston and a epergne (a large elaborate centrepiece for a table) presented to Queen Victoria as a jubilee gift by the officers of the army.

In the late 1890s Gilbert ran into financial difficulties and in 1901 filed for bankruptcy. Later that year he moved to Bruges, and in 1924 relocated to Rome. He subsequently returned to England in 1926. During his years abroad, he drew illustrations for the Sherlock Holmes short stories 'His Last Bow. The War Service of Sherlock Holmes' (1917) and 'The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone' (1921) by Arthur Conan Doyle which were published in The Strand Magazine. In 1928 he completed what is considered to be one of his finest works, the tomb of the Duke of Clarence in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, a commission on which he had been working since 1892.

Gilbert exhibited at the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Royal Academy and Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours in London; the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin; the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool; Manchester City Art Gallery; Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts; and at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy (ARA) in 1887 and a Royal Academician in 1992. He resigned as an RA in 1908 but resumed membership in 1932. He was also elected an Honorary member of the Royal Society of British Artists (HRBA) in 1909, and an Honorary member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (HRI) in 1893 which he resigned in 1909, and to which he was re-elected in 1932. He was knighted for his services to art in 1932. Gilbert died in London on 4 November 1934.

_{Text source: Art History Research net (AHR net)}

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