James Laurence Watts Sold at Auction Prices

JAMES LAURENCE WATTS [1849 - 1925], A medallion portrait cast in plaster of Paris of Robert Dunne, Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane, the cast signed lower right

JAMES LAURENCE WATTS [1849 - 1925], A medallion portrait cast in plaster of Paris of Robert Dunne, Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane, the cast signed lower right "J.L.Watts" Mounted in the original timber case (under glass), frame dimensions 37.5 x 35cm with original paper title affixed inside the case: "Most Rev. Robert Dunne, D.D.,  Archbishop of Brisbane, Died 13th January 1917, R.I.P." Robert Dunne served as the second Catholic Bishop of Brisbane from 1882 to 1917 and this cast was created to commemorate him after his death. It was produced in late 1917 and sold by the Brisbane picture framer, A.L. Hambleton, who advertised its' availability in the Catholic Advocate. The artist, James Watts, born in England, arrived in Brisbane in 1884. He was one of the founders of the  Queensland Art Society and was Queensland's most significant sculptor, producing a number of notable public works including the Boer War Memorial in Anzac Square.