Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1st Baronet,
RAThe Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
(Vienna, 6 July 1834 – 12 December 1890) was a medallist and
sculptorSculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, best known for the
Jubilee head of Queen Victoria on
coinA coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
age, and the statue of the
Duke of WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
at
Hyde Park CornerHyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge...
.
Biography
Boehm was born in
ViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
of
Hungarian parentage. His father was director of the imperial mint in Vienna. After studying the plastic art in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and at
ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he worked for a few years as a medallist in Vienna. In 1856, he was presented with the
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n Imperial Prize for Sculpture, the start of his distinguished career.
After a further period of study in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, he was so successful as an exhibitor at the
1862 International ExhibitionThe International of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a world's fair. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London, England, on a site that now houses museums including the Natural History Museum and the Science...
that he decided to devote more time to portrait busts and statuettes, chiefly equestrian. He came to live in England in 1862 and became a British subject three years later. A colossal statue of Queen Victoria, executed in marble (1869) for Windsor Castle, and the monument of the duke of Kent in St George's chapel, were his earliest great works, and so entirely to the taste of his royal patrons that he rose rapidly in favour with the court. He became a member of the
ARA- Arts, media and entertainment :* Ara , Turkish film by Ümit Ünal* Ara , a Catalan language daily newspaper from Barcelona* Ara Tribe, a fictional Protoss tribe in the StarCraft Universe...
in 1878, was appointed sculptor in ordinary in 1881 and was elected to the
Royal AcademyThe Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
in 1882. In 1889 he was created a
Baronet, of Wetherby Gardens in the Parish of St Mary Abbots, Kensington, in the County of London.
In 1887, he designed and executed the model for the dies for a series of coin, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the queen's reign. The coins are signed J.E.B. below the shoulder. This design was severely criticized by his peers as well as the public. It was replaced in 1893. The coins depicted the royal arms in the
order of the garterThe Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
on the reverse. As a result, the sixpences were frequently gilded and passed off as gold half sovereigns. Therefore, the sixpence reverted to its standard design.
A speciality of his was the portrait
bustA bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
, many examples of which are in the National Portrait Gallery. During his career he was commissioned frequently by the
Royal FamilyA royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
and members of the
aristocracyAristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
to sculpt for their parks and gardens. His most important works include 'St George and the Dragon', which can be found outside the
State Library of VictoriaThe State Library of Victoria is the central library of the state of Victoria, Australia, located in Melbourne. It is on the block bounded by Swanston, La Trobe, Russell, and Little Lonsdale streets, in the northern centre of the central business district...
, and
Francis DrakeSir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
. Works by Boehm are at
BalmoralBalmoral Castle is a large estate house in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and east of Braemar. Balmoral has been one of the residences of the British Royal Family since 1852, when it was purchased by Queen Victoria and her...
and
DalmenyDalmeny is a suburban village and civil parish in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on the south side of the Firth of Forth, east-southeast of South Queensferry and west-northwest of central Edinburgh; it falls under the local governance of the City of Edinburgh Council.The name Dalmeny is...
. His large
equineThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
statue at
DalmenyDalmeny is a suburban village and civil parish in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on the south side of the Firth of Forth, east-southeast of South Queensferry and west-northwest of central Edinburgh; it falls under the local governance of the City of Edinburgh Council.The name Dalmeny is...
was commissioned by Baron
Mayer Amschel de RothschildMayer Amschel de Rothschild of the English branch of the Rothschild family was the fourth and youngest son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild . He was named Mayer Amschel Rothschild, for his grandfather, the patriarch of the Rothschild family.-Life:Known to his family as "Muffy", he was born in New Court,...
for his new mansion,
Mentmore TowersMentmore Towers is a 19th century English country house in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. The house was designed by Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George Henry Stokes, in the revival Elizabethan and Jacobean style of the late 16th century called Jacobethan, for the banker and...
, in the 1860s.
There are many statues by Boehm in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In
St Paul's CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
is his memorial statue to General
Charles George GordonMajor-General Charles George Gordon, CB , known as "Chinese" Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British army officer and administrator....
. At
Hyde Park CornerHyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge...
a large equestrian statue of the
Duke of Wellington dominates the area. Other statues can be found in
Fleet StreetFleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
, the
Temple BarTemple Bar is the barrier marking the westernmost extent of the City of London on the road to Westminster, where Fleet Street becomes the Strand...
and Embankment Gardens. On the death of Dean Stanley, Boehm was commissioned to execute his sarcophagus in
Westminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
. Among his ideal subjects, the “Herdsman and Bull” is notable.
Princess Louise
Boehm's most famous pupil was the
Princess Louise, Duchess of ArgyllThe Princess Louise was a member of the British Royal Family, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, Prince Consort.Louise's early life was spent moving between the various royal residences in the...
, daughter of Queen Victoria. Princess Louise was at his house, at 76
Fulham RoadFulham Road is a street in London, England, that runs from the A219 road in right in the centre of Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, through Chelsea to Brompton Road Knightsbridge and the A4 in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.Fulham Road runs parallel...
in London, when Boehm died suddenly on 12 December 1890, provoking press speculation about an unsubstantiated sexual relationship between the two. Their friendly relationship is attested by a 21-volume set of
The Plays of Shakspeare, which Princess Louise gave to the sculptor in 1875. (The set, published by F. C. & J. Rivingston et al. in 1813, was later purchased by Armistead Peter, Jr. from the London bookseller Thomas Thorp and is now located at "
Tudor PlaceTudor Place is a mansion in Washington, D.C. that was originally the home of Thomas Peter and his wife, Martha Parke Custis Peter, the step-granddaughter of George Washington, who left her the $8,000 in his will that was used to purchase the property in 1805...
," the erstwhile estate of Peter's family in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.)
See also
- Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland
The Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland is a member of the Royal household in Scotland. The first appointment was made by Queen Victoria around 1838, although it was not listed as a member of the Royal household until the 1870s. The office was made permanent in 1921.-Office holders:Holders of the...
Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1st Baronet,
RAThe Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
(Vienna, 6 July 1834 – 12 December 1890) was a medallist and
sculptorSculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, best known for the
Jubilee head of Queen Victoria on
coinA coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
age, and the statue of the
Duke of WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
at
Hyde Park CornerHyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge...
.
Biography
Boehm was born in
ViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
of
Hungarian parentage. His father was director of the imperial mint in Vienna. After studying the plastic art in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and at
ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he worked for a few years as a medallist in Vienna. In 1856, he was presented with the
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n Imperial Prize for Sculpture, the start of his distinguished career.
After a further period of study in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, he was so successful as an exhibitor at the
1862 International ExhibitionThe International of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a world's fair. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London, England, on a site that now houses museums including the Natural History Museum and the Science...
that he decided to devote more time to portrait busts and statuettes, chiefly equestrian. He came to live in England in 1862 and became a British subject three years later. A colossal statue of Queen Victoria, executed in marble (1869) for Windsor Castle, and the monument of the duke of Kent in St George's chapel, were his earliest great works, and so entirely to the taste of his royal patrons that he rose rapidly in favour with the court. He became a member of the
ARA- Arts, media and entertainment :* Ara , Turkish film by Ümit Ünal* Ara , a Catalan language daily newspaper from Barcelona* Ara Tribe, a fictional Protoss tribe in the StarCraft Universe...
in 1878, was appointed sculptor in ordinary in 1881 and was elected to the
Royal AcademyThe Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
in 1882. In 1889 he was created a
Baronet, of Wetherby Gardens in the Parish of St Mary Abbots, Kensington, in the County of London.
In 1887, he designed and executed the model for the dies for a series of coin, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the queen's reign. The coins are signed J.E.B. below the shoulder. This design was severely criticized by his peers as well as the public. It was replaced in 1893. The coins depicted the royal arms in the
order of the garterThe Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
on the reverse. As a result, the sixpences were frequently gilded and passed off as gold half sovereigns. Therefore, the sixpence reverted to its standard design.
A speciality of his was the portrait
bustA bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
, many examples of which are in the National Portrait Gallery. During his career he was commissioned frequently by the
Royal FamilyA royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
and members of the
aristocracyAristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
to sculpt for their parks and gardens. His most important works include 'St George and the Dragon', which can be found outside the
State Library of VictoriaThe State Library of Victoria is the central library of the state of Victoria, Australia, located in Melbourne. It is on the block bounded by Swanston, La Trobe, Russell, and Little Lonsdale streets, in the northern centre of the central business district...
, and
Francis DrakeSir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
. Works by Boehm are at
BalmoralBalmoral Castle is a large estate house in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and east of Braemar. Balmoral has been one of the residences of the British Royal Family since 1852, when it was purchased by Queen Victoria and her...
and
DalmenyDalmeny is a suburban village and civil parish in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on the south side of the Firth of Forth, east-southeast of South Queensferry and west-northwest of central Edinburgh; it falls under the local governance of the City of Edinburgh Council.The name Dalmeny is...
. His large
equineThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
statue at
DalmenyDalmeny is a suburban village and civil parish in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on the south side of the Firth of Forth, east-southeast of South Queensferry and west-northwest of central Edinburgh; it falls under the local governance of the City of Edinburgh Council.The name Dalmeny is...
was commissioned by Baron
Mayer Amschel de RothschildMayer Amschel de Rothschild of the English branch of the Rothschild family was the fourth and youngest son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild . He was named Mayer Amschel Rothschild, for his grandfather, the patriarch of the Rothschild family.-Life:Known to his family as "Muffy", he was born in New Court,...
for his new mansion,
Mentmore TowersMentmore Towers is a 19th century English country house in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. The house was designed by Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George Henry Stokes, in the revival Elizabethan and Jacobean style of the late 16th century called Jacobethan, for the banker and...
, in the 1860s.
There are many statues by Boehm in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In
St Paul's CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
is his memorial statue to General
Charles George GordonMajor-General Charles George Gordon, CB , known as "Chinese" Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British army officer and administrator....
. At
Hyde Park CornerHyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge...
a large equestrian statue of the
Duke of Wellington dominates the area. Other statues can be found in
Fleet StreetFleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
, the
Temple BarTemple Bar is the barrier marking the westernmost extent of the City of London on the road to Westminster, where Fleet Street becomes the Strand...
and Embankment Gardens. On the death of Dean Stanley, Boehm was commissioned to execute his sarcophagus in
Westminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
. Among his ideal subjects, the “Herdsman and Bull” is notable.
Princess Louise
Boehm's most famous pupil was the
Princess Louise, Duchess of ArgyllThe Princess Louise was a member of the British Royal Family, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, Prince Consort.Louise's early life was spent moving between the various royal residences in the...
, daughter of Queen Victoria. Princess Louise was at his house, at 76
Fulham RoadFulham Road is a street in London, England, that runs from the A219 road in right in the centre of Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, through Chelsea to Brompton Road Knightsbridge and the A4 in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.Fulham Road runs parallel...
in London, when Boehm died suddenly on 12 December 1890, provoking press speculation about an unsubstantiated sexual relationship between the two. Their friendly relationship is attested by a 21-volume set of
The Plays of Shakspeare, which Princess Louise gave to the sculptor in 1875. (The set, published by F. C. & J. Rivingston et al. in 1813, was later purchased by Armistead Peter, Jr. from the London bookseller Thomas Thorp and is now located at "
Tudor PlaceTudor Place is a mansion in Washington, D.C. that was originally the home of Thomas Peter and his wife, Martha Parke Custis Peter, the step-granddaughter of George Washington, who left her the $8,000 in his will that was used to purchase the property in 1805...
," the erstwhile estate of Peter's family in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.)
See also
- Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland
The Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland is a member of the Royal household in Scotland. The first appointment was made by Queen Victoria around 1838, although it was not listed as a member of the Royal household until the 1870s. The office was made permanent in 1921.-Office holders:Holders of the...
Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1st Baronet,
RAThe Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
(Vienna, 6 July 1834 – 12 December 1890) was a medallist and
sculptorSculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, best known for the
Jubilee head of Queen Victoria on
coinA coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
age, and the statue of the
Duke of WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
at
Hyde Park CornerHyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge...
.
Biography
Boehm was born in
ViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
of
Hungarian parentage. His father was director of the imperial mint in Vienna. After studying the plastic art in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and at
ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he worked for a few years as a medallist in Vienna. In 1856, he was presented with the
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n Imperial Prize for Sculpture, the start of his distinguished career.
After a further period of study in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, he was so successful as an exhibitor at the
1862 International ExhibitionThe International of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a world's fair. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London, England, on a site that now houses museums including the Natural History Museum and the Science...
that he decided to devote more time to portrait busts and statuettes, chiefly equestrian. He came to live in England in 1862 and became a British subject three years later. A colossal statue of Queen Victoria, executed in marble (1869) for Windsor Castle, and the monument of the duke of Kent in St George's chapel, were his earliest great works, and so entirely to the taste of his royal patrons that he rose rapidly in favour with the court. He became a member of the
ARA- Arts, media and entertainment :* Ara , Turkish film by Ümit Ünal* Ara , a Catalan language daily newspaper from Barcelona* Ara Tribe, a fictional Protoss tribe in the StarCraft Universe...
in 1878, was appointed sculptor in ordinary in 1881 and was elected to the
Royal AcademyThe Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
in 1882. In 1889 he was created a
Baronet, of Wetherby Gardens in the Parish of St Mary Abbots, Kensington, in the County of London.
In 1887, he designed and executed the model for the dies for a series of coin, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the queen's reign. The coins are signed J.E.B. below the shoulder. This design was severely criticized by his peers as well as the public. It was replaced in 1893. The coins depicted the royal arms in the
order of the garterThe Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
on the reverse. As a result, the sixpences were frequently gilded and passed off as gold half sovereigns. Therefore, the sixpence reverted to its standard design.
A speciality of his was the portrait
bustA bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
, many examples of which are in the National Portrait Gallery. During his career he was commissioned frequently by the
Royal FamilyA royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
and members of the
aristocracyAristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
to sculpt for their parks and gardens. His most important works include 'St George and the Dragon', which can be found outside the
State Library of VictoriaThe State Library of Victoria is the central library of the state of Victoria, Australia, located in Melbourne. It is on the block bounded by Swanston, La Trobe, Russell, and Little Lonsdale streets, in the northern centre of the central business district...
, and
Francis DrakeSir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
. Works by Boehm are at
BalmoralBalmoral Castle is a large estate house in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and east of Braemar. Balmoral has been one of the residences of the British Royal Family since 1852, when it was purchased by Queen Victoria and her...
and
DalmenyDalmeny is a suburban village and civil parish in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on the south side of the Firth of Forth, east-southeast of South Queensferry and west-northwest of central Edinburgh; it falls under the local governance of the City of Edinburgh Council.The name Dalmeny is...
. His large
equineThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
statue at
DalmenyDalmeny is a suburban village and civil parish in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on the south side of the Firth of Forth, east-southeast of South Queensferry and west-northwest of central Edinburgh; it falls under the local governance of the City of Edinburgh Council.The name Dalmeny is...
was commissioned by Baron
Mayer Amschel de RothschildMayer Amschel de Rothschild of the English branch of the Rothschild family was the fourth and youngest son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild . He was named Mayer Amschel Rothschild, for his grandfather, the patriarch of the Rothschild family.-Life:Known to his family as "Muffy", he was born in New Court,...
for his new mansion,
Mentmore TowersMentmore Towers is a 19th century English country house in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. The house was designed by Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George Henry Stokes, in the revival Elizabethan and Jacobean style of the late 16th century called Jacobethan, for the banker and...
, in the 1860s.
There are many statues by Boehm in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In
St Paul's CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
is his memorial statue to General
Charles George GordonMajor-General Charles George Gordon, CB , known as "Chinese" Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British army officer and administrator....
. At
Hyde Park CornerHyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge...
a large equestrian statue of the
Duke of Wellington dominates the area. Other statues can be found in
Fleet StreetFleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
, the
Temple BarTemple Bar is the barrier marking the westernmost extent of the City of London on the road to Westminster, where Fleet Street becomes the Strand...
and Embankment Gardens. On the death of Dean Stanley, Boehm was commissioned to execute his sarcophagus in
Westminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
. Among his ideal subjects, the “Herdsman and Bull” is notable.
Princess Louise
Boehm's most famous pupil was the
Princess Louise, Duchess of ArgyllThe Princess Louise was a member of the British Royal Family, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, Prince Consort.Louise's early life was spent moving between the various royal residences in the...
, daughter of Queen Victoria. Princess Louise was at his house, at 76
Fulham RoadFulham Road is a street in London, England, that runs from the A219 road in right in the centre of Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, through Chelsea to Brompton Road Knightsbridge and the A4 in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.Fulham Road runs parallel...
in London, when Boehm died suddenly on 12 December 1890, provoking press speculation about an unsubstantiated sexual relationship between the two. Their friendly relationship is attested by a 21-volume set of
The Plays of Shakspeare, which Princess Louise gave to the sculptor in 1875. (The set, published by F. C. & J. Rivingston et al. in 1813, was later purchased by Armistead Peter, Jr. from the London bookseller Thomas Thorp and is now located at "
Tudor PlaceTudor Place is a mansion in Washington, D.C. that was originally the home of Thomas Peter and his wife, Martha Parke Custis Peter, the step-granddaughter of George Washington, who left her the $8,000 in his will that was used to purchase the property in 1805...
," the erstwhile estate of Peter's family in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.)
See also
- Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland
The Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland is a member of the Royal household in Scotland. The first appointment was made by Queen Victoria around 1838, although it was not listed as a member of the Royal household until the 1870s. The office was made permanent in 1921.-Office holders:Holders of the...