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George Cruikshank was one of Charles Dickens's close friends and illustrators. Behnes was a highly celebrated sculptor and mentored many important artists. He became the Sculptor-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria upon her accession. William Behnes was a revered sculptor of German parentage who became famous for his portrait-busts. Although the original bust is presumed lost, numerous casts were made, including this one and another in the National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 1300). Unfortunately, no record specifying the work's provenance seems to exist, but we are aware that George Cruikshank and William Behnes were well acquainted. When Behnes died in 1864, Cruikshank lobbied for a bronze bust of the artist to be presented to the National Gallery, a campaign that was soon abandoned.
A whimsical letter in which Dickens's speaks of a lost dog, specifically a 'setter', a nineteenth-century colloquialism of the verb 'to sit', seems to allude to this event. This letter was published in the Dickensian in 1906 with the date 1855, however, the Pilgrim edition of 'The Letters of Charles Dickens' has established that this was a mistake and that it was written on 11th June 1839 instead.
Charles Dickens Museum, London
London
Title
George Cruikshank (1792–1878)
Date
c.1855
Medium
plaster
Measurements
H 75 x W 34.5 x D 25.5 cm
Accession number
DH30
Work type
Bust
Signature/marks description
on front: BEHNES SCP.
Inscription description
across the front: George Cruikshank
Charles Dickens Museum, London
48 Doughty Street, London, Greater London WC1N 2LX England
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