John Smyth (1776 – 1840) was an Irish sculptor. The son of sculptor Edward Smyth (1749–1812), John Smyth was trained at the Dublin Society's school, and worked with his father at

Montgomery Street Montgomery Street is a north-south thoroughfare in San Francisco, California, in the United States. It runs about 16 blocks from the Telegraph Hill neighborhood south through downtown, terminating at Market Street. South of Columbus Avenue ...

(now Foley Street) in Dublin. One of his first public works was a monument to John Ball in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. He assisted his father, Edward, with a number of sculptures at Parliament House (now Bank of Ireland), the King's Inns, and with decorative plaster and stonework at the Chapel Royal of

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the s ...

. He also sculpted the statues of Mercury, Fidelity, and Hibernia for the pediment of the

General Post Office, Dublin The General Post Office (GPO; ga, Ard-Oifig an Phoist) is the headquarters of An Post — the Irish Post Office. It is the principal post office of Dublin — the capital city of Ireland — and is situated in the centre of O'Connell Street, t ...

(c.1814). He repaired the equestrian statue of William III (William of Orange) in College Green after it was blown up in 1836. Other pieces by John Smyth were sculpted for Dublin's Richmond Bridge (c.1816; now O'Donovan Rossa Bridge), and several public buildings and churches in the capital. In 1818, Smyth was commissioned to produce a bust of

Charles Whitworth, 1st Earl Whitworth Charles Whitworth, 1st Earl Whitworth, GCB, PC (29 May 1752 – 13 May 1825), known as The Lord Whitworth between 1800 and 1813 and as The Viscount Whitworth between 1813 and 1815, was a British diplomat and politician. Early years Whitwort ...

, then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, which was displayed at the Society of Artists in 1819 alongside a bust of his wife Arabella by Thomas Kirk. A number of his works are held by the National Gallery of Ireland. Like his own father, several of John Smyth's own children become sculptors, as did his grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, John 1770s births 1840 deaths Irish sculptors