Prince Albert Sculpture, Leinster Lawn In 1869, John Henry Foley was commissioned by the Dublin City Albert Memorial Committee to design and create a memorial to Prince Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria, who had died in 1861. The Committee was chaired by the Lord Mayor of Dublin. The Committee’s role was to raise funds for the sculpture through public subscription and to source a suitable location for its erection. The selection of a suitable site was hotly debated at the time – proposed locations included College Green and Carlisle Bridge. The chosen location for the sculpture was Leinster Lawn on Merrion Square, then home to the Royal Dublin Society (now the rear lawn of Dáil Eireann). Leinster Lawn was considered eminently suitable as it had been the location of the Dublin Exhibition of 1853 which Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had jointly opened. Its proximity to the newly opened National Gallery of Ireland was also a deciding factor.
Where is Prince Albert? Prince Albert is back … was he … Out for a stroll? Gone to see relatives? Off visiting the statues of Parnell and Thomas Moore? OBAIR 12
John Henry Foley was born in No. 6 Montgomery Street in Dublin in May 1818. He studied in the Royal Dublin Society from the age of thirteen where he won numerous awards for modelling and drawing. He later studied at the Royal Academy in London, and exhibited there regularly from 1839. He was elected a Member of the Royal Academy in 1858 and the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1861. He was experienced and successful, and had obtained many
important public commissions by the time he was awarded the Albert commission in Dublin. He had already established himself as an eminent sculptor, having completed the figure of Prince Albert and the Asia group of figures for the Albert Memorial in London (located in Kensington Gardens, opposite the Royal Albert Hall). In Dublin, Foley is best known for the figures of Oliver Goldsmith and Edmund Burke outside the main entrance to Trinity College Dublin, and the equestrian sculpture of Viscount Gough which was located in the Phoenix Park (now in the UK). He was commissioned to undertake the O’Connell monument in Dublin in 1866. However, he completed only the sketch models and was working on the large scale clay models when he died in 1874. He finished the figures on the plinth but the other figures were later completed by his assistant, Brock. Foley is buried in the crypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The sculpture group on Leinster Lawn consists of the bronze figure of Prince Albert flanked by four youths in bronze on a limestone pedestal. Prince Albert is dressed in the formal robes of the Knight of the Garter. Each of the four youths personifies an area that the Prince had promoted in his lifetime – science, art, industry and agriculture.
The figures of the four youths a shepherd, a tradesman, an explorer and an artist are beautifully modelled. The figures of the four youths, a shepherd, a tradesman, an explorer and an artist are beautifully modelled. Each figure is finished in superb crisp detail. The young explorer, who represents science, holds a telescope. The shepard cradles a lamb under his arm. The artist is dressed in a smock and carries his portfolio. The blacksmith, representing Industry, has his sleeves rolled up and bears the tools of his trade. The finished sculpture grouping was unveiled in 1872. The sculpture was later moved from its central location on Leinster Lawn to allow for the erection of a permanent memorial to Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins and Kevin O’Higgins which was designed by the OPW architects Raymond McGrath and Frank Du Barry with the bronze flame and plaques by sculptor Laurence Campbell (erected in 1950). The Albert Memorial is now to be found on the edge of Leinster Lawn close to the National History Museum, surrounded by hedging. In 2002, the Albert memorial was examined by the Art Management office of the OPW with Dublin-based bronze foundry, CAST, advising on its condition. It was agreed that some restoration work was needed to prevent the works deteriorating as they had remained untouched since their installation, and some signs of environmental damage
were beginning to show. Due to its distance from the street and its sheltered location, the works had remained in relatively good condition but some restoration work was considered necessary. A programme of restoration began and the four youths were taken to the CAST Foundry, repaired and repatinated. It was then decided that, when the four figures were restored, they would take part in that year’s touring Art of the State exhibition which focused on sculpture. The timing of the restoration work provided an ideal opportunity to show the sculptor’s skill to a wider audience. The four figures travelled to Queen’s University Belfast, to Wexford Vocational College, and finally to Dublin Castle. Another exciting dimension of the restoration project was the discovery of four plaster casts of the youths which are currently located in the Dublin Institute of Technology in Bolton Street. The OPW Art Management office was contacted by Robert Simpson, Head of the Department of Manufacturing Engineering at the Institute. He had taken an interest in the four figures located there and contacted the OPW to ascertain if we had any background information on the pieces. The figures there had suffered some damage and he was keen to have them restored. As the four figures were awaiting their return to Leinster Lawn, it was agreed that casts could be made
from them to assist with the restoration of the damaged works in Bolton Street. There are differences between the plaster figures and the final bronze works. Robert Simpson has been undertaking research on the plaster figures and ascertained that such figures feature in a photograph of a meeting of Dáil Eireann in the Mansion House in August 1921. The final pieces of the jigsaw have yet to be found but it will be interesting to ascertain if these are Foley’s original plaster models, later modified in the final version. The final part of the project was to undertake restoration work on the bronze figure of Prince Albert and this was completed in April 2004. The figure was removed by CAST on a Saturday morning in March this year and returned two weeks later. His two-week absence was noted at the time in the Irish Times in the letters page under the heading ‘Where is Prince Albert?’ and his return acknowledged therein a week later ‘Prince Albert is back’ with the suggestion that he had been ‘Out for a stroll? Gone to see relatives? Off visiting the statues of Parnell and Thomas Moore?’ He is now reunited with the four figures at the base. Together, they form a truly tremendous sculptural work by one of Ireland’s most esteemed sculptors and bear testimony to his ability. JACQUIE MOORE ART MANAGEMENT OFFICE
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