Edward Onslow Ford RA
Born 27 July 1852
Died 23 December 1901
Active: 1880 - 1902
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor, medallist
Born in Islington, London. He was the son of Edward Ford (c.1827-64), a wholesale stationer and fancy card box manufacturer who died in 1864 leaving effects valued at under £5,000. Onslow Ford started by studying painting at the Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp (c.1870-71). He then went on to the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Munich (c.1871-4) where Professor Michael Wagmüller encouraged Ford to take up sculpture. One of his fellow students in Munich was the sculptor, Edwin Roscoe Mullins.
On his return to London in 1874, Ford built up a successful practice initially based on portraiture. Alfred Gilbert occupied a neighbouring studio in The Avenue, Fulham Road and they worked together on experiments with lost wax casting. Ford went on to establish a reputation for statuettes using this technique.
He also pioneered the use of mixed-media, and his work 'The Singer', 1889 (Tate) with its extensive use of enamelling and semi-precious stones was widely acclaimed. However, his outstanding achievement is considered to be the remarkable monument to Percy Bysshe Shelley, Oxford (1892-3).
In the latter part of his career, Ford was heavily over-worked and this may have contributed to him developing heart disease (c.1900) and his death two years later. The suddenness of this event led to widespread rumours that he had committed suicide and, as Stocker remarks (Oxford, 2004), Ford's debts and other pressures lend some credence to this theory.
Wealth at death: £10,568 8s. 6d.
In debt at death.
Probate date: 1902
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.
His Grace the Duke of Norfolk, KG
H.H. Prince Leopold of Battenburg
No
1880 (Presumed)
Yes
1880 (Presumed)
Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone
1889 (Presumed)
Camel
1890 (Circa)
Marble Bust
1891
Peace
1891
Female Head
1892
Female Head
1892
Old Woman's Head
1893 (Presumed)
£42
Folly
1893 (Presumed)
£36 15s.
Folie
1894
Applaudissements
1894
Tête d’étude
1894
Folly
1894
Bust of Arthur Armstrong, Esq.
1895
Arthur Hacker, Esq.
1895
Bronze Torso
1895
W. Q. Orchardson, RA, HRSA
1896
Head
1896
Professor Hubert Herkomer, RA
1897 (Presumed)
Briton Riviere, R.A.
1899 (Presumed)
Dagnan-Bouveret
1900
Bust of a Lady
1901
The late Professor Huxley
1901
Sir Henry Irvine
1901
Maharajah of Mysore
1901
Echo
1901
Bust of Her Majesty the late Queen
1901
The Shelley Memorial
1901
Bust of Her late Majesty, Queen Victoria
1901
Briton Riviere, Esq. R.A.
1901
Folly
1901 (Presumed)
Arthur Hacker, Esq., ARA
1901 (Presumed)
M. Ridley Corbet, Esq., ARA
1901 (Presumed)
W. Q. Orchardson
1901 (Presumed)
The Artist
1901 (Presumed)
Briton Riviere. R.A.
1902 (Presumed)
Exhibited under the title \'the late Onslow Ford\' in 1906.
Prince Leopold
1902 (Presumed)
Paderewski
1902 (Presumed)
exhibited posthumously
Locations
Studio located at 11 Trafalgar Studios King's Road London SW | View on map
Studio located at The Avenue, 76 Fulham Road London | View on map
1881 (Circa) - 1890 (Circa)
Studio located in The Studio, 62 Acacia Road St Johns Wood London | View on map
1887 (Circa) - 1901 (Circa)
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition, 1894
'Folly'
Exhibited at Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition, 1895
'Bust of Arthur Armstrong, Esq.'
Exhibited at Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition, 1901
'Bust of Her late Majesty, Queen Victoria'
Exhibited at The Thirty-Fourth Spring Exhibition at the Rooms of the Society, New Street (Royal Birmingham Society of Artists), 1899
'Briton Riviere, R.A.'
Exhibited at The Thirty-sixth Spring Exhibition at the Rooms of the Society, New Street (Royal Birmingham Society of Artists), 1901
'Briton Riviere, Esq. R.A.'
Exhibited at The Thirty-Seventh Spring Exhibition at the Rooms of the Society, New Street (Royal Birmingham Society of Artists), 1902
Multiple works
Exhibited at The Forty-First Spring Exhibition at the Rooms of the Society, New Street (Royal Birmingham Society of Artists), 1906
'Briton Riviere. R.A.'
Exhibited at The Thirty-Eighth Spring Exhibition at the Rooms of the Society, New Street (Royal Birmingham Society of Artists), 1903
Multiple works
Exhibited at Leeds City Art Gallery, The Spring Exhibition, 1896
'M. R. Corbet, Esq.'
Exhibited at Leeds City Art Gallery, The Spring Exhibition, 1908
'Folly'
Exhibited at Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, Eleventh Autumn Exhibition, 1893
'The Rt Hon. A. J. Balfour, MP'
Exhibited at Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, Twelfth Autumn Exhibition, 1894
Multiple works
Exhibited at Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, Thirteenth Autumn Exhibition, 1895
'Study of a Head'
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the thirtieth (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1900
Multiple works
Exhibited at Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, Sixteenth Autumn Exhibition, 1898
Multiple works
Exhibited at Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, Seventeenth Autumn Exhibition, 1899
'Sir William Agnew, Bart'
Exhibited at Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, Nineteenth Autumn Exhibition, 1901
'H.H. Prince Leopold of Battenburg'
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, The Seventieth, 1896
'Head'
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, The Sixty-Fifth, 1891
'Marble Bust'
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, The One-Hundred-and-Twenty-First, 1947
'W. Q. Orchardson, RA, HRSA'
Exhibited at First Exhibition of the Society of Scottish Artists, 1892
'Female Head'
Exhibited at Thirty-Fourth Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, 1895
Multiple works
Exhibited at Thirty-Ninth Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, 1900
'Dagnan-Bouveret'
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1889
'Camel'
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1875 - 1901
Exhibited 27 times (and once posthumously in 1902), one or two works shown each year up to 1879, then usually three per annum up to 1893, and finally five to eight works in most years from 1894-1901.
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures: the eighth (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1878
1878
Rev. Newman Hall, LLD (cat. no. 1042, not for sale); Hubert Herkomer (cat. no. 1043, not for sale).
Exhibited at Liverpool autumn exhibition of modern pictures: the thirteenth (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1883
1883
The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone (cat. no. 1609, marble, £157 10s.).
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of pictures, in oil and water-colours: the sixteenth (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1886
1886
A Study (cat. no. 1258, bronze, £105); Major-General Sir Andrew Clarke, GC, MG, RE (cat. no. 1265, study for a colossal bust to be placed in front of the Town Hall, Singapore, not for sale).
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of pictures, in oil and water-colours: the eighteenth (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1888
1888
Folly (cat. no. 1399, bronze, £210).
Exhibited at South Wales Art Society and Sketching Club 2nd Annual Exhibition, 1889
1889
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of pictures, in oil and water-colours: the nineteenth (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1889
1889
The Singer (cat. no. 1497, £840).
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-first (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1891
1891
p. 48
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-first (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1891
1891
Peace (cat. no. 1257, bronze, sketch p. 115, £735).
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-second (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1892
1892
Shelley Memorial (cat. no. 1322, presented to University College, Oxford, not for sale).
Exhibited at South Wales Art Society 6th Annual Exhibition, 1893
1893
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-third (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1893
1893
J. McClure Hamilton, Esq. (cat. no. 1230, illustrated on p. 110, not for sale).
Exhibited at Exposition Universelle des Beaux-Arts (Antwerp), 1894
1894
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-fourth (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1894
1894
Study of a Head (cat. no. 1284, marble bust, £315).
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-fifth (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1895
1895
W. H. Lever, Esq. (cat. no. 1253, bronze, not for sale); Model of the Strathnairn Memorial (cat. no. 1266, not for sale); M. R. Corbet, Esq. (cat. no. 1273, bronze head, not for sale); Echo (cat. no. 1279, bronze statue, not for sale); W. Q. Orchardson, Esq., RA (cat. no. 1280, not for sale); Briton Riviere, Esq., RA (cat. no. 1281, bronze head, not for sale).
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-sixth (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1896
1896
L. Alma-Tadema, Esq., RA (cat. no. 1170, marble copy of diploma bust, £78 15s.); George Henschel, Esq. (cat. no. 1205, bronze head, £78 15s.).
Exhibited at South Wales Art Society 10th Annual Exhibition of Pictures, 1897
1897
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-seventh (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1897
1897
Herbert Spencer, Esq. (cat. no. 1274, bronze bust, not for sale); Geo. Alexander, Esq. (cat. no. 1275, bronze bust, illustrated on p. 116, not for sale); M. P. Dagnan Bouveret (cat. no. 1277, bronze bust, not for sale); A Portrait Bust (cat. no. 1280, not for sale).
Exhibited at International Exhibition, Glasgow, 1901
1901
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the thirty-first (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1901
1901
Plaster Bust (cat. no. 1529, not for sale).
Exhibition committee member for The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth (Summer Exhibition), 1896
6 April 1896 - 20 April 1896
A 'Mr. Ford' is listed as being responsible for the arrangement of sculpture for the exhibition. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1896' (1897), p. 28.
Speaker at Bronze Founding (Art Workers Guild), 1885
Spoke after lecture.
Speaker at Pedestals and Canopies (Art Workers Guild), 1887
Speaker at Reproductive Processes in Sculpture (Art Workers G), 1891
Speaker at Architecture as applied to Sculpture (Art Workers Guild), 1900
Speaker at The Royal Scottish Academy Life School
Gave the Presidential Address
Won prize The Brussels International Exhibition, 1897
1897
First-Class Medal (Sculpture)
Institutional and Business Connections
Donor to Art Workers Guild
1890
Gave a bust he had made of George Blackall Simonds
Elected ARA Royal Academy of Arts
17 January 1888 - 26 July 1895
Elected RA in 1895.
Elected RA Royal Academy of Arts
26 July 1895 - 23 December 1901
Ford'S diploma work, 'Bust of L. Alma-Tadema, R. A.', was accepted in 1895. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1895', (1896), p. 48. Died in 1901.
Master of Art Workers Guild
1895
Member of Art Workers Guild
1884 - 1901
Committee member in 1886, master in 1895. Resigned in 1899, made honorary member in 1900.
Member of The Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society
1888 (Presumed)
Listed as one of 20 sculptors invited to be part of selection and hanging committee for the first exhibition (offer accepted).
Member of council Royal Academy of Arts
1896
Listed as a Member of the Council. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Reports'.
Member of panel at The Glasgow School of Art
1898
Examination Panel for 'Modelling Designs'
Visitor at Royal Academy Schools
1891 - 1901
Listed as a Visitor to the School of Modelling from the Life. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Reports'.
Visitor at Slade School of Fine Art
September 1893 - June 1899
Personal and Professional Connections
Assistant was Charles Leonard Hartwell
Employed as studio assistant Frank Bowcher
Was a pupil of Ford for six years after having studies at the National Art Training School (Royal College of Art): see Forrer, vol. 1, (1902), p. 133, no dates are given.
Employed as studio assistant Andrea Carlo Lucchesi
Lucchesi modelled the portrait roundel for the monument to Ford near his studio (1903) (see Stocker, Oxford, 2004)
Mother/father/parent of Rudolph Onslow Ford
Mother/father/parent of Wolpam Onslow Ford
Nominated by (Joseph) Edgar Boehm
8 December 1881
For RA.
Nominator of Andrea Carlo Lucchesi
20 April 1893
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Charles Francis Annesley Voysey
25 April 1895
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Joseph William Swynnerton
30 October 1896
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Gustave Matzof
25 June 1898
For RA; unsuccessful.
Seconded by Henry Hugh Armstead
8 December 1881
For RA.
Seconder of Frederick William Pomeroy
1 December 1890
For RA.
Seconder of George James Frampton
1 December 1890
For RA.
Seconder of (Edgar) Bertram Mackennal
12 December 1895
For RA.
Shared studio with Wolpam Onslow Ford
1896 - 1901
Shared studio with Rudolph Onslow Ford
1898 - 1901
Student of Michael Wagmuller
Ford studied with Wagmuller in Munich
Taught Frank Bowcher
See Forrer, vol. 2, (1904), p. 125, no dates are given.
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 II, 1904 Biographical Dictionary of Medallists
Listed as a contemporary sculptor. Forrer cites at length Victor G. Parr's, 'Men and Women of the Time', London, (1899), p. 376. This source decsribes how Ford sent 'several designs, at the invitation of the committee presiding over a new issue of the coins of the realm' in 1893: cited in Forrer, vol. 2, (1904), p. 123.
Listed under Sculptors Post Office London Directory, 1890 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1890
p.1997
Listed under Sculptors Post Office London Directory, 1900 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1900
p.2371
Publications
Author of Memorandum upon the Royal College of Art Prepared by the Council of Art and Submitted to the Board of Education, 1900
1900
p. 7.
Sources
Annual Programme Cards, 1884-1934
Annual Report of The Glasgow School of Art 1898
January 1898
Examination Panel for 'Modelling Designs'
Art Workers Guild Annual Reports, 1885-1900
1887, p.5; 1888, p.4; 1891, p.7; 1895, pp.16-17 ['Address of the Master on leaving the chair in December 1895']; 1895, p.20; 1899, p.7; 1900, p.5.
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society: Its History and Achivements
1938 (Probable)
p.6.
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society: Papers relating to the founding of the Society
1888 (Circa)
'National Exhibition of the Arts'. Listed as one of 20 sculptors invited to be part of selection and hanging committee.
Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the thirtieth, 1900 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1900
Cat. Nos. 1437, 1438, p. 39
Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-fifth, 1895 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1895
pp. 47-50.
Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-first, 1891 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1891
p. 48 name listed as 'F. Onslow Ford'
Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-fourth, 1894 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1894
pp. 49-52.
Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-seventh, 1897 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1897
pp. 44-47.
Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-sixth, 1896 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1896
pp. 45-48.
Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the twenty-third, 1893 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1893
pp. 42-45.
Autumn exhibition of pictures, in oil and water-colours: the eighteenth, 1888 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1888
pp. 54-56.
Autumn exhibition of pictures, in oil and water-colours: the sixteenth, 1886 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1886
pp. 79-80.
Catalogue of the Eleventh Autumn Exhibition, 1893
1893
Cat. Nos. 791, 800, pp. 62, 63
Catalogue of the First Spring Exhibition 1880
1880
Cat. Nos. 713, 715, pp. 62, viii
Catalogue of the Nineteenth Autumn Exhibition, 1901
1901
Cat. No. 278, pp. 48, 53
Catalogue of the Seventeenth Autumn Exhibition, 1899
1899
Cat. No. 249, pp. 43, 47
Catalogue of the Sixteenth Autumn Exhibition, 1898
1898
Cat. No. 230, pp. 27, 30
Catalogue of the Spring Exhibition, The City Art Gallery, Leeds 1896
1896
Cat. No. 555, pp. 50, 72
Catalogue of the Spring Exhibition, The City Art Gallery, Leeds 1908
1908
Cat. No. 372, p. 35
Catalogue of the Thirteenth Autumn Exhibition, 1895
1895
Cat. No. 629, pp. 53, 59
Catalogue of the Twelfth Autumn Exhibition, 1894
1894
Cat. Nos. 614, 628, 629, pp. 53, 54, 59
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
2005
Class: RG13; Piece: 118; Folio: 82; Page: 36.
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
2010
Name: Edward Ford
Probate Date: 19 Apr 1864
Death Date: 16 Mar 1864
Death Place: Kent, England
Registry: Principal Registry
Exposition Universelle des Beaux-Arts
1894,
Catalogue Général Illustré
1894
International Exhibition Glasgow, 1901,
Official Catalogue of the Fine Art Section
1901
Liverpool autumn exhibition of modern pictures, 1883 Walker Art Gallery
1883
pp. 93-94.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
2004
Mark Stocker, ‘Ford, (Edward) Onslow (1852–1901)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2007 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/33196, accessed 15 Jan 2009]
Post Office London Directory, 1890 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1890
p.1997
Post Office London Directory, 1900 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1900
p.2371
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, 1866-1906
1906
See entries for 1879, 1890, 1895-1896, 1898.
Royal Society of British Sculptors. Minutes of Council Meetings No. 1, 1905-1913
19 May 1913
13 January 1908.
South Wales Art Society 10th Annual Exhibition Catalogue.
1897
South Wales Art Society and Sketching Club 2nd Annual Exhibition Catalogue.
1889
South Wales Art Society catalogue for 6th Annual Exhibition of pictures and sculpture.
1893
Transactions - National Association for the Advancement of Art, Edinburgh 1889
1890
University College London. Calendar. Session 1893-1894
1893
p. 79.
University College London. Calendar. Session 1898-1899
1898
p. 91.
Citing this record
'Edward Onslow Ford 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_1207247692, accessed 29 May 2023]
