Patrick MacDowell (12 August 1799 – 9 December 1870) was a
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
-born British sculptor operating through the 19th century.
Life
MacDowell was born in Belfast in 1799. His father died whilst he was young and the family lived in relative poverty.
From 1807 to 1811 he boarded at a school in Belfast, run by an engraver named Gordon, who encouraged his attempts at drawing, and from 1811 to 1813 he was under the tuition of a clergyman in Hampshire.
Around 1811 he moved with his mother to
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, where they had relatives. In 1813, aged 14 (the then standard age to begin apprenticeships), he was apprenticed to a coach-builder in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. However, his master went bankrupt and his training as a coach-builder ended abruptly. During this time he was lodging in the house of
Pierre Francois Chenu, the sculptor. It is presumed that this engendered an interest in sculpture within the young MacDowell.
On the recommendation of
John Constable the painter, he went to the
Royal Academy Schools and he exhibited at the Academy from 1822 until his death.
He was elected a Member on 10 February 1846 and presented as his diploma work a "Nymph.".
MacDowell died at his home in Wood Lane,
Highgate
Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross.
Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisat ...
, London on 9 December 1870 and was buried on the eastern side of
Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...
. His gravestone incorrectly records the year of his death as 1871, not 1870.
Other Works
MacDowell's works include a statue of
Sir William Brown in the Great Hall of
St George's Hall, Liverpool
St George's Hall is a building on St George's Place, opposite Lime Street railway station in the centre of Liverpool, England. Opened in 1854, it is a Neoclassical building which contains concert halls and law courts, and is recorded in the Na ...
. His life-size memorial, in marble, to the young Earl of Belfast (died 1853) showing the deceased on his deathbed attended by his mother, was in Belfast Castle Chapel. It was moved to Belfast City Hall.
A statue of Sir
Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth
Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB (19 April 1757 – 23 January 1833) was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars. His younger brother I ...
by MacDowell stands in the centre of the
Greenwich Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United ...
.
His last major work was the ''Europe'' allegorical group at the
Albert Memorial
The Albert Memorial, directly north of the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington Gardens, London, was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband Prince Albert, who died in 1861. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic R ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
*Monument to Catherine Spurway at
Milverton, Somerset
Milverton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in the valley of the River Tone west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 1,438. The parish includes the hamlet of Preston B ...
(1845)
*Statue of the
Earl of Warren in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
(1850)
*Statue of
Almeric in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
(1850)
*Statue at the grave of
William Turner in
St Paul's Cathedral (1851)
*Monument to the Marchioness of Donegal in
Belfast Castle
Belfast Castle (Irish: ''Caisleán Bhéal Feirste''Ireland Highlights: Belfast Castle. https://www.irelandhighlights.com/info/belfast-castle/ ) is a mansion located in Cave Hill Country Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in a prominent positio ...
Chapel (1855)
*Statue of the
Earl of Belfast in Belfast Free Library (1855)
*Statue of
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...
in the
Palace of Westminster (1857)
*Statue of the
Earl of Chatham
Earl of Chatham, of Chatham in the County of Kent, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1766 for William Pitt the Elder on his appointment as Lord Privy Seal, along with the subsidiary title Viscount Pitt, of Burto ...
in the
Palace of Westminster (1857)
*Statue of
Viscount Fitzgibbon in Limerick (1858) replaced in 1916 by a monument to the
Easter Uprising
The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the ...
*Statue of
Sir William Brown at
St George's Hall, Liverpool
St George's Hall is a building on St George's Place, opposite Lime Street railway station in the centre of Liverpool, England. Opened in 1854, it is a Neoclassical building which contains concert halls and law courts, and is recorded in the Na ...
(1858)
*Statue of
Lord Plunket
Baron Plunket, of Newtown in the County of Cork, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1827 for the prominent Irish lawyer and Whig politician William Plunket. He served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1830 ...
in the Four Courts,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
(1863)
*Statue of
Earl of Eglinton for
St Stephen's Green
St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by ...
in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
(1866)
See also
*
List of Northern Irish artists
Notes
;Attribution
External links
Patrick MacDowell Info & SculpturePATRICK
In: Dictionary of national biography,1893,volume= 35 - pages=pages 66–67
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdowell, Patrick
1799 births
1870 deaths
Burials at Highgate Cemetery
Royal Academicians
Irish sculptors
Artists from Belfast