- William Behnes
William Behnes (1795–1864) was an English sculptor of the early 19th century.
Born in
London , Behnes was the son of aHanover ianpianoforte -maker and his English wife. His early life was spent inDublin where he studied art at the Dublin Academy.After the family returned to London, Behnes continued his artistic training, studying at the
Royal Academy School of Art from 1813. As a painter, he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1815 and won several medals during the ensuing years. In 1819 he won aSociety of Arts gold medal for inventing an instrument to assist sculpture work, having by this time begun to practice successfully as a sculptor.In 1837 Behnes was appointed 'Sculptor in Ordinary' to Queen Victoria. His pupils included noted sculptors
George Frederic Watts ,Thomas Woolner andHenry Weekes , [cite web |title = Stevens T. 'Weekes, Henry (1807–1877)', "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" (2004) |url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/28969 |publisher= Oxford University Press| accessdate = 2008-03-17] and naturalistBenjamin Waterhouse Hawkins .He produced many busts of children, reliefs and also some notable church monuments and statues, including ones of Dr William Babington in
St Paul's Cathedral and Major-General SirHenry Havelock (believed to be the first statue based on aphotograph , two casts were made - one is today situated inTrafalgar Square , London, the other in Mowbray Park,Sunderland ) and several of SirRobert Peel (including ones situated inLeeds , Peel Park inBradford , and at the police college inHendon in north-west London). Other subjects included:Thomas Arnold , SirJoshua Reynolds ,Benjamin West andGeorge Cruikshank .Despite this success, he was financially inept and was declared
bankrupt in 1861, and died in poverty.References
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