Joseph James Whitehead

Born 18 January 1868
Died 17 January 1951

Active: 1889 - 1950

Country of birth and death: England

Sculptor, marble and stone merchant

Born in Aston, Birmingham. He was the oldest son of John Whitehead (c.1845-1904) who ran a successful firm combining undertaking, funerary monuments, sculpture and a stone and marble yard. Joseph's younger brother John (born in 1876 in London) also worked for the family business around 1901 and possibly later. In about 1893 Joseph married Ottelia (born c.1867) from Carrara. It is presumed they met whilst he was visiting the quarries; one aspect of the family firm was dealing in marble and they had an office in Carrara. He died at Creek House, Barton-on-Sea, Hampshire.

Joseph was the principal sculptor associated with J. Whitehead and Son and was director of the firm by 1902. He exhibited portraits and statues at the Royal Academy of Arts between 1889-95 and had a studio in Vincent Square adjacent to premises occupied by the main family business. His known works include: the monument to Father Damian, Molokai, Hawaii (c.1891); effigy of John Rae, Kirkwall Cathedral, Orkney; a statue of Charles Kingsley, Bideford, Devon (1906); war memorials (post-1945) for the General Post Office, King Edward's Buildings, King Edward Street, London and in Victoria Square Stafford. Joseph Whitehead is probably responsible for works created on behalf of the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association as J. Whitehead and Son became their official contractor by 1909.

He also contributed to the Titanic Memorial, Andrews Park, Southampton under the supervision of William Hamo Thornycroft (unveiled April 1914) which includes a central statue of 'Nike' resting upon a prow. Whitehead used Charles Frederick William Hatfield (1879-1954) as the model for the sculptures of the engineers and other crew that were lost in the disaster. Hatfield was a stoker-greaser for White Star Line, the owners of the Titanic. In the event of a ship being damaged, the stoker-greasers maintained power and combatted flooding in the engine room and throughout the ship so were amongst the least likely of the crew to survive. The choice of Hatfield was therefore a form of tribute to the courage and sacrifice of those doing similar work on the Titanic.

The list of works in this record is taken from Ward-Jackson (2003) and the details of the Titanic memorial are from a report in 'The Times'. Information about Hatfield modelling for the Titanic memorial has been supplied by his grandson, Wayne Ranger.

Citing this record

'Joseph James Whitehead', 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_1285704615, accessed 29 May 2023]