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Notes

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James Boswell is best known as the biographer of Doctor Samuel Johnson. His book 'Life of Samuel Johnson' was published in 1791 was an immediate success. Boswell is represented with his sword by his side, notebook under his arm, and walking stick held behind his back. Around the top of the pedestal are medallions of five of Boswell's friends; Burke; Samuel Johnson's pupil, the actor David Garrick; Goldsmith; Mrs Thrale; and Sir Joshua Reynolds. Below these are scenes in which Johnson and Boswell took part; Johnson and Boswell in the Hebrides; Johnson introducing Boswell to the Literary Club of London; Johnson and Boswell supping at the 'Three Crowns' Inn, Lichfield. Boswell's coat of arms and crest of a hawk with the motto 'Vraie Foy', which means 'true faith'.

Title

James Boswell (1740–1795)

Date

1908

Medium

bronze, marble & Portland stone

Measurements

H 190 x W (?) x D (?) cm;
Plinth: H 180 x W (?) x D (?) cm

Accession number

WS13_DKJ_S007

Acquisition method

gift from Percy Fitzgerald

Work type

Statue

Owner

Lichfield City Council

Custodian

Lichfield City Council

Work status

extant

Listing status

Grade II (England and Wales)

Unveiling date

19th September 1908

Listing date

05/02/52

Access

at all times

Inscription description

inscribed, south side: THE WORK / OF / PERCY FITZGERALD M.A. F.S.A. / BIOGRAPHER OF BOSWELL / ALSO EDITOR OF BOSWELL'S JOHNSON/ PRESENTED BY HIM/ TO/ THE CITY OF LICHFIELD / W.R.COLERIDGE-ROBERTS. MAYOR / HERBERT RUSSELL TOWN CLERK / 1908. North side, beneath figure: BOSWELL; adjacent to relief panel of Johnson and Boswell: 1740 / 1795; north side, within the three portrait medallions: GOLDSMITH GARRIC (sic) BURKE; north side, within roundel below relief panel: Vraie [bird] Foy; east side, within portrait medallion: REYNOLDS; east side, within bronze relief: At / Three Crowns; west side, within portrait medallion: THRALE; west side, within bronze relief: At the Club

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Market Square, Lichfield

WS13 6AA

Situated in Market Square.

Artist or maker

Percy Fitzgerald

1834–1925

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Sir Henry Irving (1838–1905) Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Charles Reade (1814–1884) Magdalen College, University of Oxford
Charles Reade (1814–1884) National Portrait Gallery, London
James Boswell (1740–1795)
Dr Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
Charles Dickens (1812–1870) Bath Pump Room
The Doctor Laughs Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum
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