Leonard Jennings OBE
Born 1877
Died 5 October 1956
Active: 1902 - 1950
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor, teacher
Born Acton, London. Son of a laundry proprietor. He studied art at Lambeth School of Art, Glasgow School of Art and the Royal Academy Schools. Jennings was an assistant to Francis Derwent Wood and then from 1907-9 worked for the Government of India also teaching at Calcutta School of Art.
At the outbreak of war he enlisted in the Surrey Yeomanry and was commissioned in 1915 into the Northumberland Hussars. From 1916-19 Jennings served in France and Flanders, was mentioned twice in dispatches and then joined the staff of Lord Rawlinson. On demobilization he was placed on the reserve list of officers with the rank of captain. At the outbreak of war in 1939 Jennings rejoined the army serving on a staff appointment in the UK. According to his obituary in 'The Times', his war service left a permanent mark in the form of a preference for order and efficiency.
The majority of Jennings's public commissions were in India. These included: a statue of King Edward VII at Bangalore; the Thackeray memorial, Calcutta; the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade memorial, Delhi; a statue of the Prince of Wales (later Duke of Windsor) presented by the Aga Khan, Bombay; a marble bust of Nawab Bahadur Abdul Latif, C.I.E (1913-14) which was unveiled by Lord Carmichael (Governor of Bengal, British India) at a ceremony at Calcutta University Senate House on 5 July 1915; and a ten foot statue of George V in coronation robes, Patna (exhibited at the RA in 1939). Jennings also executed some memorials in the UK such as a plaque to Dr. M.Y. Young, which was unveiled at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington in 1952 (source: Fleming Papers held at the British Library Manuscripts collection, add. 56128).
Jennings's other works were primarily portrait sculptures which were known for their subtlety of expression and close likeness. In addition, he created a number of equestrian statuettes which demonstrated his thorough understanding of horses and his pleasure in riding to hounds. He died in Ipswich and East Suffolk General Hospital, his residential address (based on the Probate Calendar) at this date was The White Horse Inn, Badingam, Suffolk.
This entry includes information supplied by Barbara Cooke and Mrs Asefa Qayyum.
Wealth at death: £1,204 19s. 1d.
Probate date: 6 November 1956
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.
Paolo and Francesca
1913
Brenda
1931 (Circa)
H.R.H. The Prince of Wales
1933 (Circa)
Locations
Address 11 Cheyne Gardens Chelsea London England | View on map
1910 (Circa) - 1956
Presume this was a studio address
Studio located at 1 Justice Studios Justice Walk London England | View on map
1904 (Circa) - 1906 (Circa)
Studio located at Studio 1, Elm Park Road Chelsea London England | View on map
1907 (Circa)
Studio located at Fontanta Studios 27 Glebe Place London SW England | View on map
1908 (Circa)
C/o Francis Derwent Wood
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at Tenth Annual Exhibition of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (London), 1910
Multiple works
Exhibited at The Autumn Exhibition of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (Twenty-sixth London Exhibition), 1919
'Charlie Davis'
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, The Eighty-Seventh, 1913
'Paolo and Francesca'
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Masters, 1933
Multiple works
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1931
'Brenda'
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1904 - 1950
Exhibited 24 times, usually two works per year.
Won prize Landseer Scholarships (Royal Academy of Arts), 1884-1950
1904
Two years
Institutional and Business Connections
Member of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1907 - 1923
Resignation confirmed in 1923. Jennings resigned temporarily in 1917 whilst he was serving in the army [Minute Book No. 2, 16 October, 1917].
Studied at The Glasgow School of Art
Probably in the late 1890s
Studied at Royal Academy Schools
1902 (Presumed) - 1904 (Presumed)
In 1902, Jennings was awarded a first prize silver medal for a model of a statue of group. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1902', (1903), p. 27. The following year, he won a first prize of £30 for a model of a design. See 'Annual Report, 1903', (1904), p. 34. In 1904, Jennings won a second prize for a set of four models of a figure from the life, and a Landseer Scholarship for sculpture. See 'Annual Report, 1904', (1905), pp. 28-29.
Studied at South London Technical School of Art (also Lambeth School of Art and City and Guilds of London Art School)
1904
Unsuccessful in ballot for election to Royal Academy of Arts
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA], despite nominations in 1936, 1937 and 1945.
Personal and Professional Connections
Assistant to Francis Derwent Wood
Dates unknown but probably the early 1900s before Jennings went to India in 1907
Nominated by Francis Derwent Wood
7 February 1907
For membership of Royal Society of British Sculptors.
Nominated by Gerald Leslie Brockhurst
20 November 1936
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominated by Thomas Cantrell Dugdale
19 November 1936
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominated by Henry George Rushbury
20 November 1936
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominated by Alfred Frank Hardiman
22 April 1937
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominated by Gilbert Ledward
22 April 1937
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominated by Charles Thomas Wheeler
22 April 1937 - January 1945
Two nominations for Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA], in 1937 and 1945, both unsuccessful.
Nominated by Algernon Maylow Talmage
22 April 1937
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominator of William Reid Dick
1915 (Presumed)
For membership of the Royal Society of British Sculptors
Seconded by Thomas Stirling Lee
7 February 1907
For membership of Royal Society of British Sculptors.
Descriptions of Practice
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
'Art Student'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
'Sculptor' working on own account
Sources
Aberdeen Artists' Society. Twenty-first Exhibition of Works of Modern Masters, 1931
November 1931
p. 55
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
2005
RG13 piece 1201 folio 95 page 14
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
2011
RG14PN412 RG78PN13 RD4 SD2 ED15 SN322
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
2010
Name: Leonard Jennings
Probate Date: 6 Nov 1956
Death Date: 5 Oct 1956
Death Place: Suffolk, England
Registry: London, England
List of Members: Royal Society of British Sculptors
2008
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, 1927-1938
1938
p.234.
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, c.1939-c.1961
1961 (Circa)
p.92.
Royal Society of British Sculptors. Minutes of Council Meetings No. 1, 1905-1913
19 May 1913
7 February 1907.
Royal Society of British Sculptors. Minutes of Council Meetings No. 2, 1913-1922
1922 (Presumed)
16 October 1917
The Times Digital Archive 1785-1985
2008
The Times, Oct 06, 1956; pg. 11; Issue 53655; col A
Mr. Leonard Jennings Sculptor In Stone And Bronze
Category: Obituaries
Full Text: Copyright 1956, The Times
Who was Who
December 2007
‘JENNINGS, Leonard’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U239165, accessed 13 Jan 2009]
Citing this record
'Leonard Jennings OBE', 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_1204578302, accessed 29 Sep 2023]
