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Sir

Hamo Thornycroft

RA
Hamo Thornycroft.jpg
William Hamo Thornycroft, 1884
by Theodore Blake Wirgman
Born (1850-03-09)9 March 1850
London, England
Died 18 December 1925(1925-12-18) (aged 75)
Oxford, England
Occupation Artist
Known for Sculpture

Sir William Hamo Thornycroft (born March 9, 1850, died December 18, 1925) was a famous English sculptor. He created many well-known statues, especially in London. He loved studying old Greek and Roman sculptures and became one of the youngest members of the Royal Academy of Arts.

He was a key artist in a movement called the New Sculpture. This style helped bridge the gap between older 19th-century art and newer, more modern art forms.

About Hamo Thornycroft

Hamo Thornycroft came from a family of sculptors. Both his parents, Thomas and Mary, were talented sculptors. Hamo was born in London and learned a lot from his parents when he was young. He developed a strong interest in Classical sculpture, which means art inspired by ancient Greece and Rome.

He later studied at the Royal Academy of Arts. There, he was greatly influenced by the artist Frederic Leighton. While still a student, Hamo helped his father create a large fountain in London's Park Lane. He sculpted several important figures for it using marble and bronze. In 1876, he won the Gold Medal of the Royal Academy for his statue called Warrior Bearing a Wounded Youth.

The New Sculpture Movement

During his studies, Hamo started to move away from simply making art look exactly like real life. Instead, he returned to the classic Greek styles. He became a leading figure in the movement known as the New Sculpture. His friend, the critic Edmund Gosse, even created the name "The New Sculpture" in 1894.

In the late 1870s and early 1880s, Thornycroft created many statues in this new style. These included Lot's Wife (1878) and Artemis and her Hound (1880). In 1880, he became an Associate of the Royal Academy. He then created the statue of the Greek archer Teucer (1881) and The Mower (1884). The Mower was one of the first life-size statues of an everyday worker in 19th-century sculpture.

Becoming a Royal Academician

Thornycroft was one of the youngest artists ever elected to the Royal Academy in 1882. That same year, a bronze version of his Teucer statue was bought for the British nation. This was done through the Chantrey Bequest, which helps buy art for public collections.

After 1884, Thornycroft became very well-known. He received many important jobs to create large monuments. One of his most famous works is the statue of General Gordon in Trafalgar Square in London.

He also created other significant statues, including:

  • The Bishop of Carlisle (1895)
  • Oliver Cromwell (in Westminster)
  • Dean Colet (outside St Paul's School)
  • King Alfred (in Winchester)
  • The Gladstone Monument (in the Strand)
  • Dr Mandell Creighton, Bishop of London (in St Paul's Cathedral)

Many other important memorials were built across the British Empire.

Later Career and Legacy

Thornycroft remained an important member of the art world and the Royal Academy into the 20th century. He won a medal of honor at the 1900 Paris Exhibition. In 1917, he was made a knight, which means he could use "Sir" before his name.

Even though his early work helped bring new ideas to sculpture in the United Kingdom, he later became less open to very new styles. Overall, he played a key role in connecting the older, traditional art styles of the 19th century with the more modern art that came later.

A blue plaque marks Thornycroft's studio at 2b Melbury Road, Kensington, London. His friend, the architect John Belcher, designed the studio around 1892.

Thornycroft's Family

Hamo Thornycroft's family had many artists. His grandfather, John Francis, was also a famous sculptor. Hamo's brother, Sir John Isaac Thornycroft, became a successful naval engineer. His sister, Theresa, was the mother of the famous poet Siegfried Sassoon. Theresa and her sisters Alyce and Helen Thornycroft were also artists.

In 1884, Hamo married Agatha Cox. She was 14 years younger than him. At a dinner in 1889, Agatha met the writer Thomas Hardy. He later said she was "the most beautiful woman in England." He even admitted that she was one of the inspirations for the main character in his famous novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles.

Agatha and Hamo were interested in "artistic dress", which was a style of clothing that was more comfortable and artistic than the strict fashions of the time. A dress believed to be her wedding dress is now kept at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Their daughter, Mary Elfrida Thornycroft, who also wrote about her father's life, donated it.

Public Statues by Thornycroft

Here are some of the public statues created by Hamo Thornycroft:

Architectural Sculptures

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) asked Thornycroft to create a detailed sculpted frieze for their main building, Chartered Accountants Hall. A frieze is a long, narrow band of sculpture that decorates a building.

Thornycroft carved this frieze between 1889 and 1893. It shows different areas of human activity that have benefited from accountants. The figures represent things like Arts, Sciences, Crafts, Education, Commerce, and more. The figure of the architect in the frieze is based on the Hall's actual architect, John Belcher. Thornycroft even included himself as the sculptor figure!

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