Robert Glassby Snr
Born 17 December 1835
Died 3 August 1892
Active: 1850 - 1892
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor, studio assistant, medallist, stonemason
Born in Mexborough, Yorkshire. He was the son of William Glassby (1813-64), stonemason but was raised by his grandfather, Robert Glassby Senior (1775-1849) a parish clerk and school teacher. The younger Robert was first trained as a shoemaker but by the age of 15 was apprenticed to a Joseph Barlow, a quarry owner. After four years Glassby was employed as a journeyman stonemason by an uncle, John Gill, in Wolverhampton, then by Messrs Anelay & Co in Doncaster and from 1856 by Joseph Hadfield, at the Norfolk Lane Marble Works, Sheffield. A year later he commenced studying drawing and modelling at Sheffield School of Art. In 1858, using the proceeds from the sale of works to a local patron, Glassby went to Paris and followed a course of independent study.
One of Glassby's first positions after returning to England in 1860 was to work as a marble carver for the Polish sculptor, Emmanuel Edward Geflowski (1834-98) in Liverpool. In about 1864, Geflowski went bankrupt and Glassby moved to London where he continued his studies first at the London School, and then at the Royal Academy Schools (from December 1864). His primary means of support was working successively in the studios of the sculptors Henry Weekes, John Birnie Philip (both brief appointments, whilst with the latter he assisted in the carving of the podium reliefs for the Albert Memorial and sculpture for the Foreign Office, Whitehall), then from 1864-8 with Baron Carlo Marochetti and lastly as principal studio assistant to Joseph Edgar Boehm between 1870-90. On Boehm's death, Glassby was entrusted with completing a number of works left incomplete, including the statue of Emperor Frederick III, originally sited in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle (now at the Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore). Glassby was one of the staff to travel in Boehm's funeral cortège: "In the fifth carriage were the following members of the professional staff of the deceased – Mr. R. Glassby, Mr. E. Lanteri, Signor Finili, and Herr Gross."
Glassby also pursued an independent practice, exhibiting regularly at the Royal Academy. In 1875 he was made an associate member of the Sheffield Society of Artists and became an active committee member. At the time of his death, Glassby was working on a marble bust of H.R.H. the late Grand Duke of Hesse, commissioned by Queen Victoria for the Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore, and a bust of Thomas Carlyle. His son Robert Edward C.F. Glassby studied at the Royal Academy Schools and exhibited at the Royal Academy. There is some confusion in Graves (1905) and possibly also in Forrer (1923) between work produced by father and son. Robert Glassby died from liver and heart disease leaving his family without means of support. Edouard Lanteri, who had also been an assistant of Boehm, helped organise a fund to provide them with financial assistance.
This record contains information supplied by Michael Piper, whose extensive research on Robert Glassby Senior and Robert Edward Glassby Junior is available at http://glassby.com/Chapter1.htm (accessed 6 September 2012).
Locations
Address Backfields Ecclesall Sheffield | View on map
1861 (Circa)
Boarding at this address
Address 20 Elizabeth Street South London | View on map
1865 (Circa)
Address 10 Brewer Street Pimlico London | View on map
1866 (Circa)
Address 19 Oakley Crescent Chelsea London | View on map
1867 (Circa) - 1868 (Circa)
Address 80 George Street Sloane Square London | View on map
1870 (Circa) - 1871 (Circa)
Address 5 Anderson Street King's Road London | View on map
1874 (Circa)
Address 15 Hobury Street (Bognor House) London | View on map
1876 (Circa) - 1892 (Circa)
Died while living at this address.
Address 28 Lamont Road Chelsea London | View on map
1891 (Circa)
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1865 - 1893
Exhibited 11 times, eleven works in all (a medallion, ideal works, terracotta statuettes, portraits and marble reliefs). [This entry has been corrected based on a comparison of Graves (1905) and the annual exhibition catalogues by Michael Piper.]
Personal and Professional Connections
Mother/father/parent of Robert Edward C. F. Glassby Jnr
Studio assistant to Emanuel Edward Geflowski
1860 - 1864 (Circa)
In Liverpool. Geflowski was declared bankrupt in 1864 and, at about the same time, Glassby moved to London.
Studio assistant to John Birnie Philip
1864 (Circa)
Glassby assisted Philip in carving the sculpture on the government offices, Whitehall
Studio assistant to Henry Weekes
1864 (Circa)
Studio assistant to (Pietro) Carlo Giovanni Battista Marochetti
1864 - 1868
Studio assistant to (Joseph) Edgar Boehm
1870 (Circa) - 1890
Glassby was principal studio assistant and completed some works on Boehm's death
Studio assistant with Edouard Lanteri
1872 (Circa) - 1890
Glassby was principal studio assistant. After his death, Lanteri helped Glassby's family by organising a fund to provide financial assistance.
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 VII, 1923 Biographical Dictionary of Medallists
Listed as a contemporary sculptor and medallist. Forrer lists a number of Glassby's medallic works that were exhibited at the Royal Academy, London, in 1865, 1866, 1890-1893. See vol. 7, (1923), p. 369.
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861
'Marble Carver'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871
'Sculptor'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
'Sculptor'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
Both Robert Glassby Senior and Robert Edward C.F. Glassby Junior 'Sculptor' neither employer nor employed
Sources
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861
2004
Class: RG 9; Piece: 3472; Folio: 108; Page: 11; GSU roll: 543137
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871
2004
Class: RG10; Piece: 78; Folio: 14; Page: 22; GSU roll: 824581
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
2004
Class: RG11; Piece: 80; Folio: 91; Page: 63; GSU roll: 1341018
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
2004
RG12 piece 58 folio 60 page 36
England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index, 1837-1915
2006
Name: Robert Glassby
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1837
Date of registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1892
Age at Death: 55
Registration district: Chelsea
Inferred County: London
Volume: 1a
Page: 223
The Times Digital Archive 1785-1985
2008
The Late Sir Edgar Boehm..
The Times (London, England), Monday, Dec 22, 1890; pg. 10; Issue 33201. (988 words)
Citing this record
'Robert Glassby Snr', 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=msib4_1240827318, accessed 29 Mar 2023]