Edward Davis
Born 1813
Died 14 August 1878
Active: 1834 - 1877
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor
Born in London, his family came from Camarthen. He studied at the Royal Academy Schools in 1833 and was also trained in the workshop of Edward Hodges Baily. His portraits included a marble bust of Sir Francis Ronalds FRS made in 1871. There are examples of this work at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Savoy Place, London; and another at his former home, Kelmscott House, Hammersmith. There is, in addition, a plaster copy of the bust at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
This record includes information submitted by Beverley F Ronalds.
Works
Dates are usually the year a work was exhibited so may differ from date of production.
New entries have been made each time a work was exhibited. Click here for more information.
Statuette of His Grace the Duke of Rutland
Cupid caught flying
1863
Mother and Child
1863
Locations
Address 17 Russell Place Fitzroy Square London | View on map
1839 (Circa) - 1866 (Circa)
Address Charlotte Street Fitzroy Square London | View on map
1867 (Circa)
Address 15 Fitzroy Street London | View on map
1867 (Circa) - 1877
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Beneficiary of Turner Fund (Royal Academy of Arts), 1856-1951
16 July 1878 - August 1878
Davis was elected as 'Turner Annuitant' of the Royal Academy. However, the artist died within a month of his election. See 'Annual Report, 1878', 1879, p. 22.
Exhibited at The International Exhibition, London, 1862
Multiple works
Exhibited at Exhibition of Works of Living Artists, The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, 1863
Multiple works
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The Eighty-Fourth, 1852
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The Eighty-Seventh, 1855
p.52
Exhibited at International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures, Dublin, 1865
no. 191.' Group in marble - Cupid Caught Flying'.
no. 273. 'Statue of Josiah Wedgwood, erected at Stoke-upon-Trent in 1862, plaster.
[Exhibited]In passage to Carriage Court
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1834 - 1877
Exhibited 43 times (26 times from 1851), an average of 3 works per year and about 114 in total
Exhibited at Liverpool autumn exhibition of modern pictures: the fourth (Free Public Library and Museum, Liverpool), 1874
1874
Neille (cat. no. 1108, marble bust, not for sale); Lilybud (cat. no. 1109, not for sale); The late John Constable, RA (cat. no. 1110, plaster bust, executed in marble by order of the Council and placed in the Royal Academy, 1873, not for sale).
Exhibited at Liverpool autumn exhibition of modern pictures: the fifth (Free Public Library and Museum, Liverpool), 1875
1875
The Swing (cat. no. 1078, not for sale) and William Makin Esq. (cat. no. 1089, plaster bust, not for sale)
Institutional and Business Connections
Member of Institute of British Sculptors
1856 (Circa) - 1861 (Circa)
Received commission from Royal Academy of Arts
1870
In 1870 Davis was comissioned by the Academy to create a marble bust of the recently deceased sculptor Daniel Maclise. The work was submitted to the Council of the Royal Academy for inspection. See Royal Academy 'Annual Report', (1871), p. 10.
Received commission from Royal Academy of Arts
1874
For a bust of John Constable RA (Roscoe (2009) pp. 344 and 346)
Unsuccessful in ballot for election to Royal Academy of Arts
Worked for Wedgwood (Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd.)
1860 (Circa)
Produced a bronze figure of Josiah Wedgwood in 1860 for the entrance to Stoke on Trent railway station: see Reilly and Savage, 'The Dictionary of Wedgwood' (1980), p. 118.
Personal and Professional Connections
Nominated by Richard Westmacott, the Younger
24 May 1867
Pupil of Edward Hodges Baily
1833 (Circa)
Seconded by George Richmond
24 May 1867
For RA; unsuccessful.
Descriptions of Practice
Listed under Sculptors Post Office London Directory, 1860 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
p. 1803
Listed under Sculptors Post Office London Directory, 1851 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
p. 1364
Sources
A Biographical Dictionary of Sculptors in Britain, 1660-1851
2009
pp. 343-6
International exhibition 1862, official catalogue, fine art department
1862
List of Members: Institute of British Sculptors (or Sculptor's Institute)
2008 (Circa)
Liverpool autumn exhibition of modern pictures, 1874 Walker Art Gallery
1874
pp. 42-43.
Liverpool autumn exhibition of modern pictures, 1875 Walker Art Gallery
1875
p. 41.
Liverpool autumn exhibition of modern pictures, 1875 Walker Art Gallery
1875
pp. 41-42.
Official Catalogue of Dublin International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures 1865
1865
p. 110, p. 115
Post Office London Directory, 1851 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1851
p. 1364
Post Office London Directory, 1860 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1860
p. 1803
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, 1866-1906
1906
See entries for 1867.
Rules of the Institute of Sculptors
1861
p. iv
The Dictionary of Wedgwood
1980
p. 118.
The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The Eighty-Fourth, 1852
1852
The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The Eighty-Seventh, 1855
1855
p.52
Citing this record
'Edward Davis', 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=msib2_1202169944, accessed 09 Jun 2023]
