Lot 54: AN EARLY VICTORIAN WHITE MARBLE BUST OF A YOUNG GENTLEMAN

AN EARLY VICTORIAN WHITE MARBLE BUST OF A YOUNG GENTLEMAN
WILLIAM BEHNES (1795-1864), DATED 1831
Inscribed to reverse 'W.BEHNES/SCULP. LONDON/1831'
26 in. (66 cm.) high

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William Behnes found fame at a young age. He first exhibited at the R.A. in 1815 and quickly accumulated a following with many commissions. The Art Journal, referring to a bust of Clarkson, wrote that they had 'never seen anything finer in modern or ancient art'. While H. Weekes was inclined to rate him as the superior of Chantrey in the field of portrait sculpture. Sadly Behnes, in middle age, fell into financial difficulties and died a pauper.