
Oliver Cornish
Sale Coordinator for Furniture, Sculpture, Rugs & Tapestries
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Sold for £6,400 inc. premium
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Sale Coordinator for Furniture, Sculpture, Rugs & Tapestries
Provenance
Sotheby's, 22 November 1994, lot 64.
John Gibson was one of the foremost neo-classical sculptors of the 19th century. After moving from Conway to Liverpool in 1799 Gibson was first apprenticed to a cabinet maker before joining the workshop of F A Legé. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1816 and moved to Rome the following year, where he received attention from both Antonio Canova and Bertel Thorvaldsen. From Rome he built up an international clientele for his marbles, and his studio became destination for wealthy tourists visiting the Eternal City.
Literature
For an illustration of a comparable larger signed figure of the same subject see T. Matthews, The biography of John Gibson, R.A., sculptor, Rome London, 1911, p 227.
In addition a further comparable similarly signed figure of Hebe dating to circa 1860 is housed in the Astley Cheetham Art Gallery, Stalybridge.