Charles J. Samuel Kelsey
Born 1820 (Circa)
Died 26 November 1888 (Probable)
Active: 1840 - 1881
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor, artist
Born in Fulham, London. He was the son of James Kelsey (born c.1796 in Surrey), an architectural sculptor active in the 1840s and who described himself as a 'Statuary' in the 1851 Census Returns. Charles trained in his father's workshop and was apprenticed to John Kelsey, a bricklayer of Rotherhithe in 1834. Charles's younger brother Richard (born c.1825 in Bermondsey) was also a 'Statuary' in 1851 and probably worked with his brother in later years.
In 1843 Charles Kelsey entered the Royal Academy Schools on the recommendation of William Etty. At various times in the 1840s and 1850s he lived and worked in Liverpool. In his latter years he seems to have taken pupils (see Census Returns of 1881) whilst also continuing to work as an architectural sculptor (see Roscoe, 2009).
Wealth at death: £95 0s. 0d.
Probate date: 8 December 1888
Locations
Address Commercial Road Lambeth London | View on map
1840 (Circa) - 1846 (Circa)
Address 16 Pine Street Liverpool | View on map
1851 (Circa)
Address 39 Clipstone Street Fitzroy Square London | View on map
1857 (Circa)
Address 59 Stanhope Street Euston Road London | View on map
1863 (Circa) - 1864 (Circa)
Address 1 Robert Street (now Sydney Street) Chelsea London | View on map
1877 (Circa)
Address 191 Stanhope Street Euston Road London | View on map
1881 (Circa) - 1888
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1840 - 1877
Exhibited 11 times (5 times after 1851), one work on each occasion.
Descriptions of Practice
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861
'Sculptor'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
'Artist (2 Assistants, 1 Pupil)'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851
'Artist (Sculptor)'
Sources
A Biographical Dictionary of Sculptors in Britain, 1660-1851
2009
pp. 684-6
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851
2004
Class: HO107; Piece: 2183; Folio: 497; Page: 36; GSU roll: 87185-87187
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861
2004
RG09 piece 97 folio 147 page 32
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
2004
Class: RG11; Piece: 181; Folio: 112; Page: 55; GSU roll: 1341039
England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index, 1837-1915
2006
Name: Charles Samuel Kelsey
Estimated birth year: abt 1820
Year of Registration: 1888
Quarter of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec
Age at Death: 68
District: Pancras (1837-1901)
County: London, Middlesex
Volume: 1b
Page: 8
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
2010
Name: Charles Samuel Kelsey
Death Date: 26 Nov 1888
Death Place: Middlesex, England
Probate Date: 8 Dec 1888
Registry: Principal Registry
Citing this record
'Charles J. Samuel Kelsey', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=ann_1278168415, accessed 02 Feb 2023]