Statue

V&A façade - Bacon

Erection date: 1909

Inscription

John Bacon

Site: Victoria & Albert Museum façade (38 memorials)

SW7, Cromwell Road

Excluding the allegories (such as Knowledge) there are 36 statues on the two public façades of the V&A Museum, on Exhibition Road and Cromwell Road. This building was designed by Aston Webb and built 1899-1909. Each statue has the subject's name on a label beneath the feet and the sculptor's name inscribed in the wall of the niche to the right of the statue. Starting in Cromwell Road and reading right to left:

Group of 6 British architects:
Chas. Barry
W. Chambers
Chrisr. Wren
Inigo Jones
John Thorpe
Wykeham

Group of 5 British painters:
J. E. Millais
Ld. Leighton
G. F. Watts
J. Constable
J. M. W. Turner

And flanking the entrance:
Queen Alexandra (to the right)
King Edward VII (to the left)

Albert (below the arch)
Victoria (in the arch)

On either side of the arch, at eye level there is a foundation stone:
Stone laid by Edward VII (to the right)
Stone laid by Victoria (to the left)

Group of 5 British painters:
R. Cosway
G. Romney
T. Gainsborough
J. Reynolds
W. Hogarth

Group of 6 British sculptors:
Alfred Stevens
John H. Foley
F. L. Chantrey
John Flaxman
John Bacon
Grinlg. Gibbons

And around the corner in Exhibition Road:

Group of 5 British craftsmen:
William Morris
Roger Payne
J. Wedgwood
T. Chippendale
Thos. Tompion

Group of 5 British craftsmen:
Huntingn. Shaw
George Heriot
William Caxton
William Torel
St. Dunstan

Note that there are more Johns than women but that's not difficult since, excluding royalty, there are no women!

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
V&A façade - Bacon

Subjects commemorated i

John Bacon the Elder

Awarded the first gold medal for sculpture by the Royal Academy in 1769. Othe...

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This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
V&A façade - Bacon

Created by i

W. S. Frith

Sculptor. William Silver Frith. Born Leicester. Other London work: Metropolit...

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This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
V&A façade - Bacon

Also at this site i

V&A façade - Chippendale

V&A façade - Chippendale

Not sure whether the statue represents junior or senior.

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Nearby Memorials

St Augustine statue

St Augustine statue

EC2, Austin Friars, Augustine House, 6a

Note the bee on the wall below his feet. Bees are associated with Saint Ambrose who had a notable influence on Augustine. That's the only...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Duke of York's column

Duke of York's column

SW1, Carlton House Terrace

Bronze statue by Westmacott of "The Grand Old Duke of York" of nursery rhyme fame. Funds for the statue were raised by stopping one day's...

2 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
Christopher Jones statue

Christopher Jones statue

SE16, St Marychurch Street, St Mary the Virgin Church

The statue represents Jones looking back at England, while the child is looking towards the New World. It was paid for by the 'Sons and D...

3 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
Darcey Bussell - Dancer with a Ribbon

Darcey Bussell - Dancer with a Ribbon

W1, Oxford Street, 116 - 122, The Plaza

The 3 green panels behind Darcey carry the lettering 'B' '&' 'H'. This 1925 building was designed for the department store Bourne and...

2 creators
George Orwell statue

George Orwell statue

W1, Hallam Street, o/s BBC

At 6' 2" Orwell was a tall man, but this statue is 2.5 metres (over 8'). He struggled with ill-health most of his life and died of tuberc...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator