Lot 162: John Henry Foley RHA RA (1818-1874) Youth at the

John Henry Foley RHA RA (1818-1874) Youth at the Stream Bronze, rich red-brown patina, 54.5cm(21_'') high Inscribed and dated ''J.H. Foley Sculp. Executed for The Art Union of London, 1846'' Literature: ''Victorian Sculpture'' by B. Read, 1982, p65; ''The Bronze Statuettes of the Art Union of London: The Rise and Decline of Victorian Taste in Sculpture'', Apollo, May 1985, p328-337; ''A Dictionary of Irish Artists'' by W.G. Strickland, p357-365 Born in Dublin, the son of a grocer, John Henry Foley entered the Royal Dublin Society Schools in 1833 and subsequently the Royal Academy Schools from 1835, studying under Richard Westmacott (1775-1856). He exhibited there from 1839 and first attracted attention at the R.A. in 1840 with his ''Innocence'' and ''Bacchus'', showing the influence of Etienne Maurice Falconet (1716-1791). He was to carry on producing works in this genre, culminating in ''Youth at the Stream''. These idealised sculptures are delicately executed and elegantly attenuated showing a Mannerist influence. The Art Union (later the Art Journal), Foley's most consistent critic and champion, considered ''Youth at the Stream'' to be the most beautiful work at the R.A. exhibition in 1844 and, in 1846, commissioned a statuette version of it in bronze of which this is one. Foley also sent ''Youth at the Steam'' to an exhibition in Westminster Hall in 1844, which resulted in his selection by the Commissioners, along with Calder Marshall and John Bell, to create works in sculpture for the new Houses of Parliament. His political portraits, in particular, that of John Hampden, led to his rapid ascension to the status of the pre-eminent sculptor of mid-Victorian Britain. He was made an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1849 and a full member in 1858.