Stanley Nicholson Babb FRBS
Born 1874
Died 16 September 1957
Active: 1900 - 1957
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor
Born in Plymouth, Devon. He was the son of William Babb (born c.1833-6 in Devonport) an accountant and manufacturer (biscuits in 1881 and soap in 1891). Stanley began his studies at Plymouth College of Art, whilst living with his parents at 2 Balmoral Place, Plymouth. By 1897 he was studying at the Royal College of Art where he was awarded a two-year British Institution Scholarship worth £50 p.a. However a year later, he was enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools, where he carried off many of the most prestigious prizes. Babb's peer group at the RA Schools included Gilbert Bayes, Bertram Pegram and Richard Louis Garbe. In the early 1900s, Babb went to Italy to extend his knowledge and experience of sculpture.
His principal commissions include the war memorial at Grahamstown, South Africa, the Scott memorial in St Paul's Cathedral, London and statues of the artists Thomas Gainsborough and George Romney on the facade of the Victoria and Albert Museum. He also made a number of war memorials, including the statue of a soldier (1922) which stands outside the Civic Centre in Tunbridge Wells. Babb died at Brixham in Devon at the age of 84.
This record includes information submitted by Dr Hilda Kean.
Wealth at death: £1,187 0s. 3d.
Probate date: 30 September 1957
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.
Love and the Vestal
1913
The stolen bow
1917
The nymph of the moorland stream
1917
The Chinese Robe
1923 (Presumed)
£31 10s.
June
1923 (Presumed)
£26 5s.
Spoil
1923 (Presumed)
£47 5s.
Leda
1924
Spoil
1924
The nymph of the moorland stream
1924
The Stolen Bow
1924 (Presumed)
£63
The Isle of Dreams
1925 (Presumed)
£350
Scharazade
1926 (Presumed)
£7 7s.
The Scold
1926 (Presumed)
£6 6s.
Jupiter and the Princes of Phoenicia
1926 (Presumed)
£15 15s.
Locations
Address 2 Balmoral Place Plymouth | View on map
1891 (Circa)
Living with his parents at this address while studying at Plymouth School of Art
Address Stamford Bridge Studios Wandon Road London | View on map
1898 (Circa) - 1904 (Circa)
Studio 2
Address The Studio, 17 St Dunstan's Road Baron's Court London W6 | View on map
1911 (Circa) - 1940 (Circa)
p. 80
Address 139 Milton Street Brixham | View on map
1957
Living at this address at the time of his death
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, The Eighty-Third, 1909
'Love and the Vestal'
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, The Ninety-First, 1917
Multiple works
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, The Ninety-Eighth, 1924
'Leda'
Exhibited at Jubilee Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, 1911
'Leda'
Exhibited at The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts Fifty-Eighth Annual Exhibition, 1919
Multiple works
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1898 - 1945
Exhibited 37 times (usually 2 or 3 works per year) up to mid-1920s usually reliefs or statuettes, after that chiefly showed works in glazed earthenware.
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-ninth (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1899
1899
The Treasure of a Woman (cat. no. 1358, plaster group, not for sale, but for sale in marble for £100).
Exhibited at The Seventy-Eighth Annual Exhibition of the Royal West of England Academy, 1923-4
2 October 1923 - 2 February 1924
Exhibited at The Seventy-Ninth Annual Exhibition of the Royal West of England Academy, 1924
1924
Exhibited at The Eightieth Annual Exhibition of the Royal West of England Academy, 1925-1926
2 November 1925 - 6 February 1926
Exhibited at The Eighty-First Annual Exhibition of the Royal West of England Academy, 1926-1927
1 November 1926 - 5 February 1927
Speaker at Glazed Pottery and Stoneware (Art Workers Guild), 1933
Won prize Landseer Scholarships (Royal Academy of Arts), 1884-1950
1900
Institutional and Business Connections
Fellow of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1923 - 1945
Became honorary member in 1945.
Honorary member of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1945 - 1957
Died in 1957.
Member of London Society of Medallists
1901 (Circa)
See Forrer, vol. 1, (1902), p. 40, who describes Babb as a member of the Society. He was active in 1901, however, no further dates are given in the source.
Member of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1905 - 1957
Amongst the second wave of those invited to join 'without further nomination' [2 March 1905, Royal Society of British Sculptors, Minutes of Council Meetings, Vol.I].
Member of Art Workers Guild
1919 - 1945
Member of committee from 1939-?. Retired from Guild in 1945.
Member of council Royal Society of British Sculptors
1920 - 1944
Served as a Member of the Council from 1920 to 1922, and from 1924 to 1925. In 1929 he was re-elected but was 'unable to accept office'. He served again from 1941, and retired in 1944
Studied at Royal College of Art (including National Art Training School)
1897 (Circa) - 1898
Awarded a two-year British Institution Scholarship worth £50 p.a. in 1897.
Studied at Royal Academy Schools
1898 (Presumed)
Awarded a first prize of £30 for a model of a design, a silver medal for a model of a design containing figure and ornament, and a second prize silver medal for a model of a statue or group. Name given incorrectly as 'Barb'. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1898', (1899), p. 32.
Studied at Royal Academy Schools
1900 (Presumed)
In 1900, Babb won a Landseer Scholarship for sculpture. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1900', (1901), p. 31. The following year, he won the gold medal and travelling studentship of £200 for a composition in sculpture. See 'Annual Report, 1901', (1902), p. 30.
Unsuccessful in ballot for election to Royal Academy of Arts
Despite nominations in 1912, 1920, 1927 and 1934.
Personal and Professional Connections
Nominated by George James Frampton
1912
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by William Hamo Thornycroft
1912
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by Henry Alfred Pegram
1912
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by William Goscombe John
1912
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by (Edgar) Bertram Mackennal
1912
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by Frederick William Pomeroy
1912 - 24 February 1920
Two nominations for RA, in 1912 and 1920, both unsuccessful.
Nominated by Thomas Brock
1912
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by Francis Bernard Dicksee
27 February 1920 - 22 February 1927
Two nominations for RA, in 1920 and 1927, both unsuccessful.
Nominated by Frank Short
1 March 1920 - 22 February 1927
Two nominations for RA, in 1920 and 1927, both unsuccessful.
Nominated by Henry Scott Tuke
1 March 1920
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by George Clausen
22 February 1927
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by Charles Leonard Hartwell
22 February 1927
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by John James Burnet
22 February 1927
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by Philip Connard
22 February 1927
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by William Llewellyn
22 February 1927 - March 1934
Two nominations for RA, in 1927 and 1934, both unsuccessful.
Nominated by Walter Westley Russell
22 February 1927 - 22 March 1934
Two nominations for RA, in 1927 and 1934, both unsuccessful.
Nominated by Malcolm Osborne
22 February 1927
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by George Harcourt
22 February 1927
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by George James Frampton
22 February 1927
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by Giles Gilbert Scott
22 February 1927
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by Sydney Lee
March 1934
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by Alfred Turner
March 1934
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by Wilfred Gabriel de Glehn
March 1934
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by George Spencer Watson
March 1934
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by William McMillan
March 1934
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by William Curtis Green
March 1934
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominated by William Russell Flint
March 1934
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Muriel Joyce Bidder
1943 (Presumed)
For membership of the Royal Society of British Sculptors
Seconder of Reuben Sheppard
5 February 1906
For membership of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.
Seconder of Frank Arnold Wright
5 February 1906
For membership of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.
Descriptions of Practice
Listed as medallist 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 I, 1902 Biographical Dictionary of Medallists
Listed as a maker of portrait medallions and a member of the London Society of Medallists. Exhibited a portrait medallion at the 'Dutch Gallery's Exhibition' in May 1901: see Forrer, vol. 1, (1902), p. 40.
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
'Art Student'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
'Artist (Sculptor)'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
'Artist (Sculptor)' working at home
Sources
Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-ninth, 1899 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1899
pp. 48-52.
Catalogue for the Eightieth Annual Exhibition of the Royal West of England Academy, 1925
1925
Catalogue for the Eighty-First Annual Exhibition of the Royal West of England Academy, 1926
1926
Catalogue for the Seventy-Eighth Annual Exhibition of the Royal West of England Academy, 1923
1923
Catalogue for the Seventy-Ninth Annual Exhibition of the Royal West of England Academy, 1924
1924
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
2004
Class: RG12; Piece: 1735; Folio 135; Page 17
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
2005
Class: RG13; Piece: 71; Folio: 5; Page: 1
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
2011
RG14PN297 RG78PN9 RD3 SD3 ED31 SN95
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
2006
Name: Stanley Nicholson Babb
Date of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar 1874
Registration district: Plymouth
Inferred County: Devon
Volume: 5b
Page: 283
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
2010
Name: Stanley Nicholson Babb
Probate Date: 30 Sep 1957
Death Date: 16 Sep 1957
Death Place: Devonshire, England
Registry: Exeter
List of Members: Royal Society of British Sculptors
2008
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, 1906-1927
1927
p.44.
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, 1927-1938
1938
p.19, p.33.
Royal Society of British Sculptors. Annual Report of Council and Accounts For the Year ending 21 December 1922. To be Presented at the Eighteenth Ordinary General Meeting, 1923
26 February 1923
p. 1
Royal Society of British Sculptors. Minutes of Council Meetings No. 1, 1905-1913
19 May 1913
2 March 1905; 5 February 1906.
Sculpture of To-day: America, Great Britain and Japan, vol. 1
1921
pp. 122, 127 and 233
The fifty-first annual report of the committee of the Art-Workers' Guild, 1935
1935
p.29.
The fifty-sixth annual report of the committee of the Art-Workers' Guild, 1940
1940
p.32.
The Times Digital Archive 1785-1985
2008
The Times (London, England), Saturday, Jul 31, 1897; pg. 1; Issue 35270. (7366 words) AND The Times (London, England), Monday, Dec 12, 1898; pg. 10; Issue 35697. (686 words) AND Mr. Nicholson Babb.
The Times (London, England), Monday, Sep 23, 1957; pg. 14; Issue 53953. (123 words)
Category: Obituaries (all accessed 12 October 2012)
Citing this record
'Stanley Nicholson Babb FRBS', 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_1206483034, accessed 04 Oct 2023]
