Sir Alfred Gilbert was an English sculptor. He was born in London and studied sculpture under Joseph Boehm, Matthew Noble, Édouard Lantéri and Pierre-Jules Cavelier. His first work of importance was The Kiss of Victory, followed by the trilogy of Perseus Arming, Icarus and Comedy and Tragedy. His most creative years were from the late 1880s to the mid-1890s, when he produced several celebrated works such as a memorial for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria and the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain Eros on Piccadilly Circus.
Portrait by Frederick Hollyer (1887)
Perseus Arming, an inspiration for the New Sculpture movement
The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in Piccadilly Circus. Anteros is one of the first statues to be cast in aluminium.
Drawing by Arthur Robertson of Alfred Gilbert's plans for the tomb of Prince Albert Victor
Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1st Baronet, was an Austrian-born British medallist and sculptor, best known for the "Jubilee head" of Queen Victoria on coinage, and the statue of the Duke of Wellington at Hyde Park Corner. During his career Boehm maintained a large studio in London and produced a significant volume of public works and private commissions. A speciality of Boehm's was the portrait bust; there are many examples of these in the National Portrait Gallery. He was often commissioned by the Royal Family and members of the aristocracy to make sculptures for their parks and gardens. His works were many, and he exhibited 123 of them at the Royal Academy from 1862 to his death in 1890.
Boehm with Princess Louise, about 1885
Boehm by J. P. Mayall from Artists at Home, published 1884
Queen Victoria, 1842 sovereign 662015
The New Zealand Medal, awarded after 1866