“The Boy Scout” by William Goscombe John, 1860-1952 (original) (raw)

The Boy Scout by William Goscombe John, 1860-1952. 1910. Bronze. 82.0 cm. Collection: Amgueddfa Cymru Caerdydd [National Museum of Wales, Cardiff] Accession number: NMW A 126. Gift of Lady Webb. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]

“By 1910, Goscombe John had enjoyed a decade of popular and critical success, winning many commissions for major public monuments, particularly in Wales. He became a Royal Academician in 1909, and was knighted in 1911. This figure was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1911. It is a portrait of Basil Webb, the only son of Henry Webb, of Llwynarthau, Monmouthshire, a Liberal MP and mining engineer, who was a director of David Davies's Ocean Coal Company. The modelling, pose and scale of this figure recall Andrea del Verrocchio's David. The sitter served as a 2nd Lieutenant with the Welsh Guards during the First World War and was killed in December 1917. This sculpture was included in _An Exhibition of Works by Certain Modern Artists of Welsh Birth or Extraction in 1913-14_” (Museum label).

Photograph at left” by the museum, which retains copyright; photograph at right” by Robert Freidus. formatting by George P. Landow. Readers of the Victorian Web may wish to visit the Museum website.]

Last modified 31 March 2012