Nelson William Illingworth (August 1862 – 26 June 1926)''

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'', Sydney, 28 June 1926 was an English sculptor and colourful

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. Illingworth was born in

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, son of Thomas Illingworth, plasterer, and his wife Sarah, ''née'' Harvey. He studied at the

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art school and worked as a modeller at the Royal Doulton potteries. He emigrated to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1892, and in 1895 his head of an Australian aboriginal was bought for the

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in Sydney. Other busts were purchased for the same gallery in 1896 and 1900. Illingworth did some architectural sculpture for buildings in Sydney, and a large number of portrait busts of notable men of his time such as Australia's first Prime Minister Sir

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and 'Father of Federation' Sir Henry Parkes. He also went to New Zealand and modelled some busts of Maori chiefs for the government. While creating sculptures of New Zealand's natives, Illingworth was promoted by the natives of a tribe as a chief of that Maori tribe. At Papawai pa, New Zealand, he erected a monument in 1911, to the memory of

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, a distinguished chief of Ngati-Kahungunu. Illingworth was one of the seven 'heptarchs' of the

Dawn and Dusk Club The Dawn and Dusk Club, or ''Dawn and Duskers'', was a Sydney-based Australian Bohemian club of writer friends from the late 19th century who met for drinks and camaraderie. Writer Henry Lawson was a prominent member of the club. The motto was ''R ...

of which Australian writer Henry Lawson and other notable Sydney bohemians were members around 1898. There is speculation that Hannah Thorburn, loved by Lawson, was one of his models and that Lawson met her through him. It was Illingworth who made the death mask of Lawson which is in the Mitchell Library, Sydney (though there is still debate whether the mask was made in the writer's life or death). Illingworth was also something of a composer. Illingworth was preparing models for the Henry Lawson statue competition when he died suddenly on 26 June 1926 in the Sydney suburb of Harbord. Illingworth left a widow, two sons and two daughters. Illingworth was a well-known and well-liked figure in the art world of Sydney; he is buried in Northern Suburbs (Sydney) cemetery.

References

*W. Moore, ''The Story of Australian Art''; *

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and

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, Sydney, 28 June 1926. {{DEFAULTSORT:Illingworth, Nelson 1862 births 1926 deaths Artists from Portsmouth English sculptors English male sculptors 20th-century English sculptors 19th-century English sculptors