Lot 1001: Joseph Gott (1786-1860): A Carved White Marble

Joseph Gott (1786-1860): A Carved White Marble Figure of a Young Girl, 2nd quarter 19th century, wearing a straw bonnet and loose robes, a basket on her left wrist, on a circular base with a tree stump, signed J GOTT FT, 106.5cm high See illustration Born in Yorkshire in 1876, Gott was apprenticed to John Flaxman from 1798 to 1802. He joined the Royal Academy Schools in 1805 and won various medals and awards. In 1822, sponsored by his patron the President of the Royal Academy Sir Thomas Lawrence, he travelled to Rome and apart from visits home, settled there for the rest of his life. Rather than the austere neo-classicism of many of his contemporaries, he adopted a more romantic style. Although he did execute sculpture on a monumental scale, his most effective work was in small-scale terracotta and marble groups and he was particularly successful with groups of dogs and children. Gott first modelled this figure of girl with a basket in 1823. A version in terracotta, dated 1826 was sold in the sale of the Peter Norton collection at Christie's, 11 January 1869, lot 1092.