Thomas Woolner RA
Born 17 December 1825
Died 7 October 1892
Active: 1842 - 1892
Country of birth and death: Great Britain
Sculptor
Born in Hadleigh, Suffolk. He was the son of Thomas Woolner (born c.1806 in Hull) who worked as a letter carrier for the GPO c.1851.
Wealth at death: £65,866 19s. 3d.
Resworn £65,766 19s. 3d. November 1894
Probate date: 7 February 1893
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.
Bust of the Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone
Design for a medal - England awards agriculture
Design for a medal competition of the lever
Sketch for a monument to William Wordsworth
Medallion of Thomas Carlyle, Esq.
Medallion of William Wordsworth
Francis Bacon
1860 (Circa)
Albert, Prince Consort
1860 (Circa)
Locations
Address 15 Mary Street St Pancras London | View on map
1851
Living here with his parents and siblings.
Address 101 Stanhope Street Hampstead Road London | View on map
1852 (Circa)
Address 27 Rutland Street Hampstead Road London | View on map
1856 (Circa) - 1861 (Circa)
Living here with his parents and siblings.
Address Tudor Lodge Albert Street London | View on map
1860 (Circa)
Address 29 Welbeck Street London W | View on map
1862 (Circa) - 1892
Address Rapkins Strood Green Slinfold | View on map
1891
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at The International Exhibition, London, 1862
Multiple works
Exhibited at Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, Royal Institution, First Autumn Exhibition, 1883
'Bust of the Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone'
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1893
Multiple works
Exhibited at International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures, Dublin, 1865
p. 111, no, 204. 'Bust of Thomas Combe, Esq'.
p. 113, no. 246. 'Moses' - plaster.
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The Eighty-Fourth, 1852
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1843 - 1893
Exhibited 37 times, number of works variable, c. 120 in all.
Exhibited at The Royal Scottish Academy Exhibition, 1826-
1866
Exhibited at the annual exhibition 1 time: 1866 (2 works)
Exhibited at Dublin Exhibition of Arts, Industries and Manufactures (and Loan Museum of Works of Art), 1872
1872
Fine Arts, Sculpture.
p. 83, no. 105:' Bas-relief, part of a monument erected at Wigton - "Comfort the Afflicted".
Owned by the artist.
Exhibited at Festival of Britain, London: Ten Decades, a Review of British Taste, 1851-1951, 1951
1951
Woolner's 'Alfred Tennyson' (representing the period 1851-1860) was lent by Mrs C. M. Fletcher, and exhibited posthumously.
Institutional and Business Connections
Elected ARA Royal Academy of Arts
26 January 1871 - 29 January 1874
Elected RA in 1869.
Elected RA Royal Academy of Arts
29 January 1874 - 7 October 1892
Died in 1892.
Employed at Wedgwood (Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd.)
1899 (Circa)
Modelled portrait medallions for Wedgwood: see Reilly and Savage, 'The Dictionary of Wedgwood' (1980), p. 395.
Member of Institute of British Sculptors
1861 (Circa)
Member of council Royal Academy of Arts
1876 - 1877
Served as a Member of the Council. See Royal Academy 'Annual Reports'.
Professor of sculpture at Royal Academy Schools
1877 - 1878
According to Sir Walter R.M. Lamb 'The Royal Academy: A Short History of its Foundation and Development', 1951 he resigned without giving any lectures,
Studied at Royal Academy Schools
16 December 1842
See Popp and Valentine, 'Royal Academy of Arts Directory of Membership', (1996), p. 131.
Visitor at Royal Academy Schools
1872 - 1887
Listed as a Visitor to the Life School from 1872 to 1875, and again from 1887. See Royal Academy 'Annual Reports'.
Personal and Professional Connections
Apprenticed to William Behnes
1840
Trained initially as a painter with Behnes's brother, Charles. On the latter's death Woolner was accepted as a pupil of William Behnes without a fee, in return, when he was sufficiently advanced, the younger artist was to work for a reduced rate as an assistant. Woolner stayed with Behnes for about 6 years.
Assistant was William Frederick Woodington Jnr
Exact dates unknown. In the memoir of her father, Thomas Woolner, Amy Woolner states that: 'Another worker in the studio who came on and off for many years was W.F. Woodington, son of the sculptor.' [p.260]
Nominated by William Boxall
5 December 1866
Nominator of Thomas Nelson MacLean
30 December 1878
For RA; unsuccessful.
Seconded by John Everett Millais
26 January 1871
Descriptions of Practice
Listed under Sculptors Biographical Dictionary of Medallists, Coin, Gem, and Seal-Engravers, Mint Masters, &c., Ancient and Modern with References to their Works, B.C. 500 - A.D. 1900, Volume VIII, 1930 Biographical Dictionary of Medallists
Listed as a sculptor and poet. Pupil of William Behnes and studied at the Royal Academy London in 1842. Became an R.A. in 1874 and Professor of Sculpture from 1877 to 1879. Forrer cites Woolner's biography, written by his daughter Amy Woolner (no further details are given), in which she describes numerous medallic works produced by Woolner between 1847 and 1888. Forrer also notes that Woolner exhibited medallic works at the Royal Academy, London, between 1846 and 1888. See vol. 8, (1930), pp. 289-290.
Listed under Sculptors Post Office London Directory, 1860 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
p. 1803
Listed under Sculptors Post Office London Directory, 1890 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1890
p.1997
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851
'Sculptor'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861
'Sculptor in marble'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871
'Sculptor RA'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
'Sculptor RA'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
'Sculptor' employer
Sources
A Biographical Dictionary of Sculptors in Britain, 1660-1851
2009
pp. 1409-17
Aberdeen Artists' Society. Sixth Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1893
October 1893
p. 66
Catalogue of the First Autumn Exhibition, 1883
1883
Cat. No. 867, p. 62
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851
2005
HO107 piece 1493 folio 771 page 33
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861
2005
RG09 piece 95 folio 132 page 54
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871
2004
RG10 piece 156 folio 8 page 9
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
2004
RG11 piece 138 folio 112 page 36
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
2004
RG12 piece 830 folio 8 page 9
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
2010
Name: Thomas Woolner
Probate Date: 7 Feb 1893
Death Date: 7 Oct 1892
Death Place: Middlesex, England
Registry: London, England
International exhibition 1862, official catalogue, fine art department
1862
List of Members: Institute of British Sculptors (or Sculptor's Institute)
2008 (Circa)
Official Catalogue of Dublin International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures 1865
1865
p. 111, no, 204. 'Bust of Thomas Combe, Esq'.
p. 113, no. 246. 'Moses' - plaster.
Official Catalogue of the Dublin Exhibition of Arts, Industries and Manufactures and Loan Museum of Works of Art, 1872
1872
Fine Arts, Sculpture.
p. 83, no. 105:' Bas-relief, part of a monument erected at Wigton - "Comfort the Afflicted".
Owned by the artist.
Oxford Natural History Museum: the Statues in the Court
2008
pp. 2 and 6
Post Office London Directory, 1860 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1860
p. 1803
Post Office London Directory, 1890 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1890
p.1997
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, 1866-1906
1906
See entries for 1866.
Rules of the Institute of Sculptors
1861
p. iv
The Dictionary of Wedgwood
1980
p. 395.
The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The Eighty-Fourth, 1852
1852
p.68
Citing this record
'Thomas Woolner RA', 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_1202173241, accessed 08 Jun 2023]
