John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon (1751-1838) Lord Chancellor

Frederick Tatham (1805 - 1878)

Plaster bust

cast 1977; after an original of c.1832
  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Government Art Collection

    A marble bust of Lord Chancellor John Scott, first Earl of Eldon, also by Frederick Tatham and sculpted in 1830 is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London. It shows the sitter in a long wig and legal robes and was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1831.

    The original marble version of this plaster cast, showing the sitter wearing a short wig, was exhibited at the Academy the following year and is now at Lincoln’s Inn.

  • About the artist
    English painter and sculptor Frederick Tatham was born in London; the son of architect Charles Heathcote Tatham (1772-1842). He exhibited between 1825 and 1854, mainly at the Royal Academy, but also at the British Institution and the Society of British Artists. As a young man he befriended William Blake and became a member of the loose brotherhood of Blake followers called ‘The Ancients’. In 1826 Tatham pooled his resources with Samuel Palmer, allowing both artists to settle in the Shoreham, Kent. They initially lodged with farmer Arthur Tooth but later bought an old cottage. Here, other ‘Ancients’ (and once Blake himself) paid visits. About six months after Blake’s death in 1827, his wife Catherine became Tatham’s live-in housekeeper.
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  • Details
    Title
    John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon (1751-1838) Lord Chancellor
    Date
    cast 1977; after an original of c.1832
    Medium
    Plaster bust
    Dimensions
    height: 78.50 cm, width: 50.00 cm
    Acquisition
    Commissioned and cast in 1977
    Provenance
    Cast, made 1977, of bust owned by Lincolns Inn (version of NPG 181)
    GAC number
    15969