Francis John Williamson (17 July 1833 – 12 March 1920) was a British portrait sculptor, reputed to have been

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

's favourite.

Career

After studying under John Bell he was an articled pupil of

John Henry Foley John Henry Foley (24 May 1818 – 27 August 1874), often referred to as J. H. Foley, was an Irish sculptor, working in London. he is best known for his statues of Daniel O'Connell in Dublin, and of Prince Albert for the Albert Memorial in Lond ...

for seven years, and his studio assistant for a further fourteen. Library of Birmingham - interior 2013-08-28 - 118

Williamson exhibited with the Royal Academy of Arts 38 times from 1853–1897. and with the

Royal Birmingham Society of Artists The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists or RBSA is an art society, based in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, England, where it owns and operates an art gallery, the RBSA Gallery, on Brook Street, just off St Paul's Square. It is both a ...

in 1868, when he showed several items, including a medallion depicting Mrs W. Wills, 1887 and 1902. It was during his time with Foley that he first met Victoria. In 1870, she commissioned a memorial to

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

's daughter

Princess Charlotte Princess Charlotte may refer to: People * Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1694–1715), wife of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich of Russia and mother of Tsar Peter II, Emperor of Russia * Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans (1700–1761), wife of ...

and her husband Prince Leopold (Victoria's uncle) which was erected inside their former home, Claremont. (The memorial was subsequently moved to

St George's Church, Esher St George's Church, Esher is a Grade I listed Anglican church in Esher, Surrey, England. Built in the 16th century, it was Esher's parish church for 300 years, though later worshippers included Queen Victoria. However, by the mid-19th century ...

.) Many members of the royal family subsequently sat for him, and in 1887 he sculpted the (Golden) ''

Jubilee bust of Queen Victoria The ''Jubilee bust of Queen Victoria'' is a sculpted bust of Queen Victoria, made as an official commemoration her 1887 golden jubilee by the sculptor Francis John Williamson. Many copies were made, and distributed throughout the British Empir ...

'', which was replicated for display around the British Empire. Williamson received a number of commissions from the municipal authorities in Birmingham. These included a marble bust of the

Shakespearian William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

scholar

Samuel Timmins Samuel Timmins (27 February 1826 – 12 November 1902) was a British Shakespearean scholar and antiquarian. He was invariably known as Sam Timmins, and signed himself "Sam: Timmins", using a colon for abbreviation in early modern style. He ...

, now in the Library of Birmingham, a statue of the dissenting theologian and natural philosopher

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...

, now in

Chamberlain Square Chamberlain Square or Chamberlain Place is a public square in central Birmingham, England, named after statesman and notable mayor of Birmingham, Joseph Chamberlain. The Victorian square was drastically remodelled in the 1970s, with most of th ...

, a statue of Sir

Josiah Mason Sir Josiah Mason (23 February 1795 – 16 June 1881) was an English industrialist, engaged in pen manufacture and other trades, and a philanthropist. He founded Mason Science College in 1875, which later became the University of Birmingham. Bi ...

, (destroyed, but a 1952 bronze cast of the bust, by

William Bloye William James Bloye (8 July 1890 – 6 June 1975) was an English sculptor, active in Birmingham either side of World War II. Life Bloye studied, and later, taught at the Birmingham School of Art (his training was interrupted by World War ...

, is in the suburb of

Erdington Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Warwickshire and located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutton Coldfield. It was also a council constituency, managed by its o ...

), a statue of preacher and reformer George Dawson (since destroyed), a statue of

John Skirrow Wright John Skirrow Wright (2 February 1822 – ) was one of the distinguished pioneers and social improvers of the 19th century in Birmingham, England; and inventor of the postal order. He was involved in many aspects of Birmingham's mid-Victorian li ...

(also destroyed; a 1956 bronze cast of the bust by Bloye is in

Birmingham Council House Birmingham City Council House in Birmingham, England, is the home of Birmingham City Council, and thus the seat of local government for the city. It provides office accommodation for both employed council officers, including the Chief Executive ...

), and the decoration on the pediment of the

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local ...

, a work known as the ''Allegory of Fame Rewarding the Arts''. A plaster cast of his bust of

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

(1893) is in the National Portrait Gallery. He met his future wife, Elizabeth Smith, while staying in Esher and they married in 1857 In 1860, they set up a home and him a studio at ''Fairholme'', 79, High Street,

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London near the London-Surrey Border, and with Esher Commons at its southern end, the town marks one limit of the Greater London Built-Up ...

,Coordinates: where he eventually died. The building (later named "The Bunch of Grapes" and now "Grapes House") is extant, and carries a blue plaque, erected by the Esher Residents Association in 2010, in commemoration of Williamson. His younger brother John Henry Williamson (born ) was a

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary grea ...

List of selected works

* Bust of

, now in the Library of Birmingham * Statue of

Sister Dora Dorothy Wyndlow Pattison, better known as Sister Dora (16 January 1832 – 24 December 1878), was a 19th-century Anglican nun and nurse who worked in Walsall, Staffordshire. Life Dorothy Wyndlow Pattison was born in Hauxwell, North Ridin ...

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

* Memorial to Prince Leopold and Princess Charlotte, now at St George's Church,

, Surrey * Memorial Bust of the Duke of Albany, Christ Church, Esher * Diamond Jubilee Memorial, Esher * Tomb of

William Brett, 1st Viscount Esher William Baliol Brett, 1st Viscount Esher, PC (13 August 181524 May 1899), known as Sir William Brett between 1868 and 1883, was a British lawyer, judge, and Conservative politician. He was briefly Solicitor-General under Benjamin Disraeli and ...

and Viscountess Esher, Christ Church churchyard, Esher * The Shrubsole Memorial, Market Place, Kingston upon Thames * Bust of Lord Tennyson * Bust of Thomas Pretious Heslop * Queen Victoria, bust, many copies * life size marble statue of Queen Victoria at Kings Park,

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

(1902) * Hypatia * His Royal Highness Prince Edward of York * Monument to James Young Gibson in Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh (1887) * Jesus as the Good Shepherd * ''Allegory of Fame Rewarding the Arts'', Pediment,

(1884) * a statue of Sir

(1885; destroyed) ** bronze cast of the bust, by

(1952) * statue of George Dawson (1885; destroyed) ** bronze cast of bust, by Bloye (1951; stolen, presumed scrapped) * statue of

(1883; destroyed) ** bronze cast of bust, by Bloye (1956) *

statue, now in

, Birmingham (Bronze, cast in 1951 from marble original of 1874) * Memorial to Dean Milman, St Paul's Cathedral * statue of Hugh Stowell Brown, (1889) now restored and in Hope Street, Liverpool

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williamson, Francis John 1833 births 1920 deaths British portrait artists People from Hampstead Sculptors from London People from Esher 20th-century British sculptors 19th-century British sculptors British male sculptors 19th-century British male artists 20th-century British male artists

Career

List of selected works

See also

References

External links