ARTWORKS

Sir Austen Henry Layard (1817–1894)

John Warrington Wood (1839–1886)

The National Gallery, London

Sir Austen Henry Layard (1817–1894)
Sir Austen Henry Layard (1817–1894)
Sir Austen Henry Layard (1817–1894)
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Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Notes

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Austen Henry Layard (1817–1894) commissioned this marble bust of himself from the sculptor John Warrington Wood in Rome in 1881. It was remodelled from a bust sculpted by Wood in London in 1869, which was exhibited the following year at the Royal Academy. Layard was not pleased with the original bust so had this version made 12 years later. It is chiselled ‘AUSTEN HENRY LAYARD’ across the front.

Layard’s archaeological excavations in Assyria made his name while he was still only in his early thirties. Most of his massive finds from Nimrud and Nineveh now form the greater part of the British Museum’s collection of Assyrian antiquities.

He entered Parliament and held Cabinet office; served as ambassador in Madrid and Constantinople; became a Trustee of the National Gallery; and built up a large collection of paintings, mainly of works by Italian artists, most of which he bequeathed to the National Gallery.

The National Gallery, London

London

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Title

Sir Austen Henry Layard (1817–1894)

Date

1881

Medium

white Carrara marble

Measurements

H 64 x W 37 x D 25.5 cm

Accession number

NG5449

Acquisition method

presented by Vice-Admiral Arthur John Layard Murray, 1943

Work type

Bust

Inscription description

chiselled across lower front: AUSTEN HENRY LAYARD; across lower right edge: J. Warrington Wood / Sculpt Roma 1881

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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Artist or maker

John Warrington Wood

1839–1886

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