Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Charming Bust of a Child’s Head by Edwin Whitney-Smith, Dated, 1910

About the Item

A charming bust of a child’s head by Edwin Whitney-Smith, dated 1910, the girl has her head slightly tilted forwards as she looks out from under a lock of hair, set on a square block signed on the reverse ‘E Whitney-Smith 1910’. This bronze is a reduction of Whitney-Smith’s original marble piece, a photograph of which survives in the V&A (object number AAD/1990/12/63). Another version can be seen in a 1920s photograph of the artist in his studio owned by the National Portrait Gallery (NPG x194201). Neither the identity of the sitter nor title of the work is known. Edwin Whitney-Smith (1880-1952) was one of the pre-eminent sculptors of his day. Born in Bristol in 1880, he became a student of William Harbutt, the headmaster of Bath School of Art, best remembered today for inventing plasticine. Whitney-Smith showed great promise from an early age, opening a studio in St John’s Wood, London, in 1910. He exhibited over 40 pieces at the Royal Academy and despite not achieving Academician status, even with list of illustrious proposers, he became a dear friend of Sir Alfred Munnings, the famous horse painter, and sculpted his portrait. He was, however, elected to the Royal Society of British Sculptors and his works were generally well-received by critics and the general public alike. Aside from the RA, he exhibited in Bristol, at the Paris Salon and the Scottish Academy and his work attracted the attention of such important patrons as the Courtauld family. One of his most famous works, The Waking Child, is in the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull and another, The Irishman, is in the Tate. One version of his bust of Ernest Bevin, the trade unionist, stands in Tooley Street in Bermondsey to this day. An article in The Sphere, published on the 3rd of May 1924, referred to the sculptor as “a well-known sculptor of smiling children” and mentioned his “famous babies’ heads”.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 17.5 in (44.45 cm)Width: 5 in (12.7 cm)Depth: 5 in (12.7 cm)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
    1910-1919
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1910
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    Lymington, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU973034086062

More From This Seller

View All
Fine Bronze Bust of ‘Dougie’ by Vivian Mallock
Located in Lymington, Hampshire
A fine bronze bust of ‘Dougie’ by Vivian Mallock depicting the head and smiling face of a Vincentian calypso singer with a dark patination becoming lighter at the end of his dreadloc...
Category

Early 2000s English Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

A plaster bust of a Victorian gentleman by Boehm
Located in Lymington, Hampshire
A plaster bust of a Victorian gentleman by Boehm, this white plaster bust shows an authoritative gentleman with a moustache and whiskers wearing a high collar and bow tie with a wais...
Category

Antique 1830s English Busts

Materials

Plaster

A charming gilt bronze group of Dutch children by Guiseppe or Joseph D’Aste
Located in Lymington, Hampshire
A charming gilt bronze group of Dutch children by D’Aste, showing five children in Dutch dress sliding on snow in their clogs, signed by J.D’ASTE. Signed/Inscribed: signed by J.D’AS...
Category

Antique 19th Century Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Marble and Ormolu Bust by Marionnet
Located in Lymington, Hampshire
A marble and Ormolu bust by Marionnet, showing the white marble head and shoulders of a girl with her hair in a bun and ringlets framing her face, wi...
Category

Antique 1890s French Busts

Materials

Marble, Ormolu

A painted plaster herm bust of the Duke of Wellington by George Gammon Adams
Located in Lymington, Hampshire
This plaster bust of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington is a replica of the original marble portrait bust, commissioned, in 1852, by the Duke’s heir for Stratfield Saye, Hampsh...
Category

Antique 19th Century English Busts

Materials

Plaster

Victorian White Painted Terracotta Bust of a Young Woman
Located in Lymington, Hampshire
A Victorian white painted terracotta bust of a young woman, wearing a draped shawl over a bodice with a lace trim, her hair elaborately coiffed with a broad plait and multiple ringle...
Category

Antique 1860s English Victorian Busts

Materials

Terracotta

You May Also Like

Pair of bronze busts of childs' heads on marble bases.
Located in London, GB
A good pair of patinated bronze busts of two children, set on black marble bases.
Category

Antique 1880s French Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Charming Gilt Bronze Bust of a Woman
Located in Buchanan, MI
Charming gilt bronze bust of a woman, spectacular gilt finish.
Category

Antique 19th Century French Neoclassical Busts

Materials

Gold Leaf

Bust Head of Nefertiti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A wonderful acrylic resin head of Nefertiti. A compliment to any shelf, desk or work station. Could be used as a paper weight or bookend as well. The piece is of good size and is wel...
Category

20th Century Mid-Century Modern Busts

Materials

Resin

Bust Head of Nefertiti
$340 Sale Price
20% Off
Charming French Terracotta Bust on Ebonized Wood Base Depicting Young Child.
Located in Buchanan, MI
Charming French Terracotta Bust on Ebonized Wood Base Depicting Young Child. We also have other bust of various subject. Feel free to call with further questions.
Category

Antique 19th Century French Neoclassical Busts

Materials

Terracotta

Meissen Porcelain Bust of a Child
By Meissen Porcelain
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Large Meissen Porcelain modeled as a bust of a young child wearing a floral decorated cap, wearing open shirt with floral embellished sash. Late 19th century Crossed swords in ...
Category

Antique Late 19th Century German Busts

Materials

Porcelain

Bronze Bust of a Man's Head
Located in Queens, NY
Mid-century bronze bust of a man's head mounted on a black marble cube base. (Signed "H. Haas '71).     
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Busts

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Recently Viewed

View All