Ellen Shenton (c1828-1859) was an English sculptor who exhibited Byronic, biblical, and Shakespearian subjects at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

in the 1850s. Ellen Maria Nicholson Shenton was baptised in 1828, the daughter of Henry Shenton, an engraver, and the sister of Henry Chawner Shenton and William Kernot Shenton. All three children became sculptors whose work was exhibited at the

. The family lived in Kentish Town, London, before moving to the

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

area. She was active from 1850 until her death in 1859. The ''London Evening Standard'' picked out her piece ''Medora'' for praise in their review of the 1851 Royal Academy show. Her statuette ''Parasina'' (1852) was described as having "elegance" in ''

The Literary Gazette ''The Literary Gazette'' was a British literary magazine, established in London in 1817 with its full title being ''The Literary Gazette, and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences''. Sometimes it appeared with the caption title, "London Lit ...

'' and ''Journal of the Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences, &c''. Her work ''The Greek mother, after having rescued her child from the eagle's nest, bearing it down on the rocks'' was described as "clever" by ''The Athenaeum'', who also suggested her work over the preceding years was notable. Her piece ''The Light of the Harem'' (1853) was chosen for the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in New York. It has been speculated that she contributed at least one figure for the Coalport porcelain manufactured by John Rose and Company.

Selected works

* Medora (1850) * Hagar and Ishmael (1851) * Parasina (1852) * Sybil (1852) * The Greek mother, after having rescued her child from the eagle's nest, bearing it down on the rocks (1853) * The Light of the Harem (1853) * By the waters of Bablyon, we sat down and wept (1858) * Cordelia (1859)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shenton, Ellen 1820s births 1859 deaths 19th-century British sculptors English sculptors English women sculptors