Mary Thornycroft

Biography

The daughter of sculptor John Francis, Thornycroft was born at Thornham in Norfolk. She studied sculpture under her father, and exhibited her works at the Royal Academy of Arts at age 21.[2]

In 1840, she married Thomas Thornycroft, a student of her father. The couple travelled to Italy and lived and worked for a time in Rome. While in Rome, Mary Thornycroft became friends with the sculptors Bertel Thorvaldsen and John Gibson. On her return to London, Gibson recommended her services to Queen Victoria.

Moreover, Gibson’s recommendation of Mary is what marked the beginning of her sequence of royal commissions lasting from 1844-1877.

Thornycroft created numerous busts and statues for the Queen, chiefly of the royal children. The drawing-room at Osborne House contained nine life-size marble statues of the young princes and princesses that were modeled by Thornycroft. She also executed a number of busts of private individuals, as well as a few ideal statues. Among the latter is her well-known figure of a ‘Skipping Girl’.[3] Most of her works were portraits of the royal children that were commissioned by Queen Victoria.

Thornycroft gave sculpting lessons to Princess Louise who was one of Queen Victoria’s daughters, she eventually became a sculptor herself.[4]

Thornycroft died on February 1st, 1895.[1]

Family

The Thornycrofts had six children who grew to adulthood, two sons (Hamo and John Isaac), and four daughters (Alyce, Theresa, Helen and Frances). Hamo Thornycroft became a sculptor while daughters Alyce, Theresa Thornycroft, and Helen Thornycroft became artists. John Isaac Thornycroft became a marine engineer.[4]

The Thornycrofts were the grandparents of Siegfried Sassoon, the war poet, through their daughter Theresa, who married Alfred Ezra Sassoon.[5]

Artworks

Early Notable Work

Mary Thornycroft was hired as a sculptor by Queen Victoria. Thornycroft sculpted many different busts,fragments, and sculptures that are now within the Royal Collection. Her first ever sculpture that was exhibited in the Royal Collection was a bust of her father in 1835. Due to being a woman her choice of commissions were limited however, she took this opportunity to chose her subjects as infants and children, with this choice she could capitalize on her career.

One specific collection called "The Four Seasons" was intended for John Gibson, a dear friend to Thornycroft, however he was unavailable for this commission and referred Thornycroft for the job. Her work and results of the Four Seasons collection launched her career as an artist. Through this opportunity she became a significant commissioner for the Royal Collection from years 1844 to 1877. The critics around this time were impressed by her graceful yet simple with the slight exaggeration of the facial expressions, this became a well liked style.

The Four Seasons
  • Victoria (1840-1901), Princess Royal as 'Summer' c.1850-70 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/25/collection/53263/victoria-1840-1901-princess-royal-as-summer
  • Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (1841-1910) as 'Winter' c. 1850 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/28/collection/53090/albert-edward-prince-of-wales-1841-1910-as-winter
  • Prince Alfred (1844-1900) as 'Autumn' c.1847 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/13/collection/34682/prince-alfred-1844-1900-as-autumn
  • Victoria (1840-1901), Princess Royal, as 'Summer' signed & dated 1847 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/14/collection/1565/victoria-1840-1901-princess-royal-as-summer
  • Albert Edward (1841-1910), Prince of Wales, as 'Winter'. c.1847 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/16/collection/1567/albert-edward-1841-1910-prince-of-wales-as-winter
  • Prince Alfred (1844-1900) as 'Autumn' 1847 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/15/collection/1566/prince-alfred-1844-1900-as-autumn
  • Princess Alice (1843-1878) as 'Spring' c.1850-70 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/47/collection/53097/princess-alice-1843-1878-as-spring

Primary Style

Mary Thornycroft's primary artistic practice was sculpture. Three main categories of her practice were busts, fragments, and full body compositions. The materials she specialized with were marble and sometimes bronze. Thornycroft's style was naturalistic and she could execute the age of the subject very well. The details that she accomplished in her sculptures actively displayed personalized expressions of each subject she sculpted. Due to her being a woman her commissions were limited therefore, she capitalized on her craft on subjects that were easily reachable for her to study these subjects being infants and children. This was an advantage because this is how she gained these notable commissions.[6]

She was well known for her commission of Four Seasons as well as, her sculpture Skipping Girl and Skipping Rope. Her fragment sculptures are interesting and were requested upon Queen Victoria. These fragments were to capture the likeness and act of souvenirs of her children. These are interesting due to them being made of marble, which is associated with funerary ideas, however none of Queen Victoria’s children died.[7]

The details that she accomplished in her sculptures actively displayed personalized expressions of each subject she sculpted. Her style of each sculpture evoke "ideal" figures.

Busts
  • Prince Alfred: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/30/collection/2112/prince-alfred-1844-1900
  • Alexandria, Princess of Wales: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/21/collection/2094/alexandra-princess-of-wales-1844-1925
  • -Princess Alice https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/9/collection/2086/princess-alice-1843-1878-0
  • -Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna, Duchess of Edinburgh: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/3/collection/2092/grand-duchess-marie-alexandrovna-duchess-of-edinburgh-1853-1920
  • -Albert, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/44/collection/2101/albert-duke-of-schleswig-holstein-1869-1931
  • -Princess Helena: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/53/collection/41292/princess-helena-1846-1923
  • -Princess Louise: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/54/collection/41293/princess-louise-1848-1939

Fragments
  • -Leg and Foot of Prince Alfred : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/5/collection/42012/leg-and-foot-of-prince-alfred
  • -Princess Helena : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/8/collection/42014/princess-helena-1846-1923
  • -Princess Beatrice : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/6/collection/55236/princess-beatrice-1857-1944
  • -Left arm and Hand of Princess Louise : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/2/collection/34578/left-arm-and-hand-of-princess-louise
  • -Prince Leopold : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/10/collection/34357/prince-leopold-1853-1884
  • -Prince Alfred : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/58/collection/34581/prince-alfred-1844-1900

Full Body Compositions
  • Victoria (1868-1935) and Maud (1869-1938) of Wales signed & dated 1877 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/61/collection/2073/victoria-1868-1935-and-maud-1869-1938-of-wales
  • Louise of Wales (1867-1931) signed & dated 1877 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/60/collection/2072/louise-of-wales-1867-1931
  • Princess Louise (1848-1939) as 'Plenty' c.1853-70 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/51/collection/53089/princess-louise-1848-1939-as-plenty
  • Princess Helena (1846-1923) as 'Peace' c.1850-70 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/46/collection/53096/princess-helena-1846-1923-as-peace
  • Prince Arthur (1850-1942) as a Hunter. c.1850-70 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/48/collection/53098/prince-arthur-1850-1942-as-a-hunter
  • Prince Leopold (1853-1884) as a Fisher Boy c.1860 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/44/collection/53088/prince-leopold-1853-1884-as-a-fisher-boy
  • Prince Leopold (1853-1884) as a Fisher Boy c.1858-60 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/42/collection/41290/prince-leopold-1853-1884-as-a-fisher-boy
  • Prince Arthur (1850-1942) as a Hunter 1859 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/41/collection/41285/prince-arthur-1850-1942-as-a-hunter
  • Princess Beatrice (1857-1944) in the Nautilus Shell signed & dated 1858 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/38/collection/41291/princess-beatrice-1857-1944-in-the-nautilus-shell
  • Princess Helena (1846-1923) as 'Peace' signed & dated 1856 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/34/collection/41295/princess-helena-1846-1923-as-peace
  • Princess Helena (1846-1923) as 'Peace' signed & dated 1857 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/35/collection/2170/princess-helena-1846-1923-as-peace
  • Princess Louise (1848-1939) as 'Plenty' signed & dated 1857 : https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/36/collection/2171/princess-louise-1848-1939-as-plenty

Notes
  1. Proctor, Nancy. "Thornycroft, Mary". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27368. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. Lee, Sidney, ed. (1898). "Thornycroft, Mary" . Dictionary of National Biography. 56. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  3. 'The Skipping Girl', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011, accessed 2 Aug 2011
  4. Proctor, Nancy. "Thornycroft, Mary". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27368. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  5. Hart-Davis, Rupert. "Sassoon, Siegfried Loraine". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35953. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  6. McCracken, Penny (1996). "Sculptor Mary Thornycroft and Her Artist Children". Woman's Art Journal. 17 (2): 3. doi:10.2307/1358460. ISSN 0270-7993.
  7. "Sculptures - Mary Thornycroft and Abraham Kent". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
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Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1898). "Thornycroft, Mary". Dictionary of National Biography. 56. London: Smith, Elder & Co.


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