Joseph Edgar Boehm

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For the Austrian violinist, see Joseph Böhm.

Joseph Edgar Boehm
BoehmLouiseWiki.jpg
Boehm with Princess Louise, about 1885
Born
Josef Erasmus Bohm[1]

6 July 1834
Vienna
Died12 December 1890(1890-12-12) (aged 56)
London, England
Known forSculpture
Spouse(s)Louisa Frances Boteler

Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1st Baronet, RA (6 July 1834 – 12 December 1890) was a medallist and sculptor, best known for the "Jubilee head" of Queen Victoria on coinage, and the statue of the Duke of Wellington at Hyde Park Corner. During his career Boehm maintained a large studio in London and produced a significant volume of public works and private commissions. A speciality of Boehm's was the portrait bust; there are many examples of these in the National Portrait Gallery. He was often commissioned by the Royal Family and members of the aristocracy to make sculptures for their parks and gardens. His works were many, and he exhibited 123 of them at the Royal Academy from 1862 to his death in 1890.

Biography[]

Boehm (originally "Böhm") was born in Vienna of Hungarian parentage. His father, Josef Daniel Böhm, was a court medal maker and the director of the imperial mint in Vienna.[2] From 1848 to 1851 Boehm studied in London at Leigh's academy of art, the forerunner of the Heatherley School of Fine Art.[2] He then returned to Vienna where he studied model making and medal design at the Academie der Bildenden Kunste before working in Italy and then, from 1859 to 1962 in Paris.[2] In 1856, in Vienna, he was presented with the First Imperial Prize for Sculpture.[3]

In 1862, Boehm settled in London, where he exhibited coins and medals at the 1862 International Exhibition, opened a studio and had his first work, a terracotta bust, shown at the Royal Academy.[2][4][3] Throughout the 1860s, Boehm, who became a British subject in 1865, devoted his time to the production of portrait busts plus equestrian statues and statuettes.[3][5] His portrait subjects included John Everett Millais, Stratford Canning and Charles Thomas Newton and Franz Liszt.[2][4] Boehm's statuette of William Makepiece Thackeray, although completed after the author's death, was considered such a good likeness that several copies were made including examples for the Garrick Club and for the Athenaeum.[6]

Boehm by J. P. Mayall from Artists at Home, published 1884

Boehm was often commissioned by members of the aristocracy to make equestrian and equine sculptures for the parks and gardens of their stately homes. His large sculpture of the stallion King Tom (1874) was commissioned by Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild for his new mansion, Mentmore Towers in 1873, and moved to Dalmeny House near Edinburgh in 1982.[7][8] His large animal works include The Young Bull and Herdsman (1871) located at The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria, Melbourne. The Horse and His Master (1874), sometimes known as A Clydesdale Stallion Rearing, in Malvern and Brueton Park in Solihull was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1874 and at the 1878 Paris Universal Exposition.[9] The work was bought by the grandson of Alfred Bird, Captain Oliver Bird for £300 in April 1944 and gifted to Solihull Council to place in one of their parks.[10][11]

In 1869 Boehm's work came to the attention of Queen Victoria and he rapidly gained favour with the royal court.[5][2] In 1869 he executed a colossal statue of Victoria, in marble for Windsor Castle, which with the monument of the Prince Edward in St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, are considered his earliest great works.[5] In total, throughout his career, Boehm completed over forty royal commissions.[2][12] He won several commissions to create statues of Victoria to mark her Golden Jubilee, several of which were replica designs, which was a common and accepted practice at the time.[12] Victoria made clear her approvial of Boehm's work by unveiling his statues of her at Windsor and Balmoral which added to the appeal of his work to the local and colonial authorites who typically commissioned such works.[12]

During his career Boehm maintained a large studio in London and produced a significant volume of work, including at least fifty-seven public statues and monuments.[2] In total over 350 sculptures have been attributed to Boehm.[12] In 1874 Boehm completed a substantial statue of John Bunyan (1628–1688) which was unveiled on 10 June at St Peter's Green, Bedford, by Lady Augusta Stanley, before a crowd of 10,000. There are many statues by Boehm in London. His equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington at Hyde Park Corner, unveiled in 1888 was commissioned to compensate for the removal of the colossal sculpture of the Duke by Matthew Cotes Wyatt from the nearby Wellington Arch to Aldershot.[13][14]

Boehm's designs were used on a series of medals minted to mark events in the Queen's reign. These included the Golden Jubilee, her Diamond Jubilee and for the Visit to Ireland Medal 1900. In 1887, Boehm designed and executed the model for the dies for a series of coins, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's reign. The coins are signed J.E.B. below the shoulder. This design was severely criticised by his peers as well as the public and was replaced in 1893.[15] The coins depicted the royal arms in the order of the garter 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.

  • Queen Victoria, 1842 Sovereign 662015

  • The New Zealand Medal, awarded after 1866

  • Commemoration Medal for Thomas Carlyle

  • Queen Victoria Crowned Jubilee Head, 1887

Boehm's early portrait busts led, later in his career, to him undertaking a total of fifty-seven church monuments and memorial works, including several in British cathedrals.[2] For the memorial to General Charles George Gordon in St Paul's Cathedral, he carved an effigy of Gordon recumbent on a sarcophagus.[16] On the death of Dean Stanley, Boehm was commissioned to execute his sarcophagus in Westminster Abbey. The Abbey also houses Boehm's memorials to Lord Beaconsfield and to Viscount Canning, plus his marble statue of the Earl of Shaftesbury.[3][17] His monument to Archbishop Tait is in Canterbury Cathedral.[3]

Boehm became an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1878, was appointed sculptor-in-ordinary to the Queen in 1881 and was elected a full member of the Royal Academy in 1882.[2][12] In 1889 he was created a baronet, of Wetherby Gardens in the Parish of St Mary Abbots, Kensington, in the County of London.[18] Boehm encouraged and supported several younger artists and sculptors, most notably Édouard Lantéri, Alfred Gilbert and Alfred Drury.[17] Boehm was instrumental in Gilbert being awarded the commission for the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in Piccadilly Circus while both Lantéri and Drury worked in Boehm's studio for a time.[17] Boehm's most famous pupil was the Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, daughter of Queen Victoria. She was at his house, at 76 Fulham Road in London, when Boehm died suddenly on 12 December 1890, provoking press speculation about a sexual relationship between the two.[1] According to historian Lucinda Hawksley, the two had a long-lasting love affair.[19]

There is a memorial to him in the crypt at St Paul's Cathedral.[20]

Public works[]

1870–1879[]

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates 		Date Type Material Dimensions Designation Wikidata Notes
Statue of "Old Tom" - geograph.org.uk - 1117483.jpg
More images 		King Tom Dalmeny House, near Edinburgh 1873 Equine statue on plinth Bronze Originally erected at Mentmore Towers, relocated to Dalmeny in 1982[7]
Statue of John Bunyan, St Peter's Street, Bedford.jpg
More images 		Statue of John Bunyan St Peter's Street, Bedford 1874 Statue on pedestal with panels Bronze and granite Grade II Q18162531 [21][22]
Statue of a Horse and Horse Tamer in Malvern Park, Solihull - 2010.JPG
More images 		The Horse and His Master Malvern and Brueton Park, Solihull 1874 Equestrian statue group on pedestal Bronze and stone Grade II Q26626782 [11]
Stables 1.jpg Horse and Groom Stable Yard, Eaton Hall, Cheshire c. 1875 Equestrian statue group on pedestal Bronze and granite Grade II Q26429540 [23]
Statue of John Fox Burgoyne, London (8015192783).jpg
More images 		John Fox Burgoyne Waterloo Place, London 1877 Statue on pedestal Bronze and stone Grade II Q26319140 [22][24][25]
PrinceOfWalesStatue.JPG
More images 		Edward VII Jijamata Udyan, Mumbai 1878 Equestrian statue on pedestal Bronze Statue shows the then Prince of Wales in the uniform of a colonel of the 10th Royal Hussars[26]

1880–1884[]

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates 		Date Type Material Dimensions Designation Wikidata Notes
Royal Courts of Justice 20130414 056.JPG
More images 		Queen Victoria Temple Bar, London 1880 Statue in niche Stone Grade II [22][27]
Statue of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), Temple Bar, London (4056362001).jpg
More images 		Edward VII Temple Bar, London 1880 Statue in niche Stone Grade II [22][27]
Statue of Thomas Carlyle, Chelsea (02).jpg
More images 		Thomas Carlyle Chelsea Embankment Gardens, London 1882 Seated statue on pedestal Bronze and red granite Grade II Q26355706 [22][24][28]
John Brown statue Balmoral.JPG John Brown Balmoral Estate, Aberdeenshire 1883 Statue on pedestal Bronze Category A Q17574620 [29]
DrakeStatueTavistock.jpg
More images 		Francis Drake Plymouth Road, Tavistock, Devon 1883 Statue on pedestal with panels Bronze and granite Grade II Q26611707 [22][30]
Statue of Drake, Plymouth Hoe.jpg
More images 		Francis Drake Plymouth Hoe, Plymouth 1884 Statue on pedestal Bronze and granite Grade II* Q17554612 Replica of the 1883 Tavistock statue.[22][31]
William Tyndale statue, Victoria Embankment Gardens 20170803 113340 (49450065486).jpg
More images 		William Tyndale Victoria Embankment Gardens, London 1884 Statue on pedestal Bronze and Portland stone 3.6m tall Grade II Q27084838 [24][32]

1885–1889[]

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates 		Date Type Material Dimensions Designation Wikidata Notes
Archibald Campbell Tait's tomb 10.JPG
More images 		Archibald Campbell Tait Canterbury Cathedral 1885 Cenotaph effigy Marble [33][34]
Natural History Museum - Charles Darwin.jpg
More images 		Charles Darwin Natural History Museum, London 1885 Seated statue Marble
Statue of MP M.T.Bass.jpg
More images 		Michael Thomas Bass Wardwick, Derby 1885 Statue on pedestal with panel Bronze and stone Grade II Q26523638 [35]
Viceroy John Lawrence 03.JPG
More images 		John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence Waterloo Place, London 1885 Statue on pedestal Bronze and granite 2.6m tall Grade II Q26319142 [22][24][36]
Memorial To Sir Herbert Stewart-Detail.jpg Memorial Fountain to Herbert Stewart Hans Place, Knightsbridge, London 1886 Relief medallion on drinking fountain Bronze Fountain by Joseph Whitehead[37]
Queen Victoria Balmoral Estate, Aberdeenshire 1887 Statue on pedestal Bronze and granite Category A Q17574625 .[38][39]
Exeter - Statue of Lord Iddesleigh 20151024.jpg Stafford Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh Northernhay Gardens, Exeter 1887 Statue on pedestal Stone and granite Grade II Q26557993 [40][41]
Statue of Queen Victoria at Windsor - geograph.org.uk - 1600094.jpg
More images 		Queen Victoria Castle Hill, Windsor, Berkshire 1887 Statue on pedestal with panels Bronze and granite Grade II Q26570416 [22][12][42][43]
Prince Consorts statue (geograph 3523199).jpg
More images 		Albert, Prince Consort Windsor Great Park, Berkshire 1887 Equestrian statue on pedestal Bronze and granite Grade II Q26609381 [44]
Statue of Queen Victoria by J.E. Boehm, Sydney 05.jpg
More images 		Queen Victoria Queen's Square, Sydney, Australia 1888 Statue on pedestal [12][45]
St George Melbourne.jpg St George and the Dragon Outside the State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia 1888 Equestrian sculpture group on pedestal Bronze and stone [46][47]
Hyde Park Corner, Duke of Wellingtons Statue (geograph 2955415).jpg
More images 		Statue of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Hyde Park Corner, London 1888 Equestrian statue on pedestal with figures Bronze and stone Grade II Q18159875 [22][48]
Victoria statue.jpg
More images 		Statue of Queen Victoria College Green, Bristol 1888 Statue on pedestal with panels Marble, granite and bronze Grade II Q7270543 [22][12][49][50]
Statue of John Elder, Elder Park, Glasgow (geograph 3583027).jpg
More images 		John Elder Elder Park, Govan, Glasgow 1888 Statue on pedestal Bronze and granite Category B Q17811104 [51]
Edinburgh Duke of Buccleuch Statue 02.JPG
More images 		Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch West Parliament Square, Edinburgh 1888 Statue on pedestal and decorated tiers Bronze and stone Category A Q17570712 Architect: Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, decoration on pedestal and tiers by various sculptors [52]
London tomb Gordon of Khartoum 2006.jpg General Gordon St Paul's Cathedral, London Chest tomb effigy Marble [16]

1890 and later[]

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates 		Date Type Material Dimensions Designation Wikidata Notes
Queen Victoria Langalibalele Street, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa 1890 Statue on pedestal Marble and stone [12][53][54]
Statue de Robert Napier Londres.jpg
More images 		Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala Queen's Gate, Kensington, London 1891, relocated 1921 Equestrian statue on pedestal Bronze and granite Grade II Q26555957 [24][55][56]
Horse Sculpture at The Stables - geograph.org.uk - 904393.jpg Equine statue Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire 1890-91 Equine statue on pedestal Bronze and stone Grade II Q26453053 Modelled from an earlier version of Copenhagen and recycled for Baron Ferdinand de Rothchild.[47][57]
Thomas Carlyle - geograph.org.uk - 387273.jpg Thomas Carlyle Ecclefechan, Dumfries and Galloway 1929 Seated statue on pedestal Bronze and stone Category B Q17804310 Replica of Boehm's 1882 original cast by MacDonald & Creswick of Edinburgh[58]

References[]

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  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Walter Armstrong (1901). "Boehm, Joseph Edgar" . Dictionary of National Biography (1st supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, Bt". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
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External links[]

Preceded by
Leonard Charles Wyon 		Coins of the pound sterling
Obverse sculptor
1887 		Succeeded by
Thomas Brock
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baronet
(of Wetherby Gardens)
1889–1890 		Succeeded by
Edgar Collin Boehm-Boteler
Retrieved from ""