Richard Cobden (1804-1865) manufacturer and politician

Location

Country: Other
City: other locations abroad

This white marble bust of Manchester manufacturer and Liberal politician Richard Cobden, made in the year after his death, shows him wearing a jacket, waistcoat and bow-tie, and with large sideburns. It was designed by the sculptor Matthew Noble and other versions of the bust are at Dunford House in West Sussex (the former home of Cobden; now Dunford House Conference & Training Centre) and the Reform Club in London, of which Cobden was a member. Noble also produced a statue of Cobden in 1867, for Peel Park in Salford.

Matthew Noble was the son of a stonemason from Yorkshire. He was apprenticed to his father, until local landowner Sir John Johnsone arranged for him to study in London, where he became a pupil of John Francis. In 1845, he exhibited his first works at the Royal Academy. In 1853, he won an open competition to design a monument to the First Duke of Wellington for Piccadilly, Manchester. This led to numerous similar commissions for statuary in the Manchester area, most significantly for the Albert Memorial in Albert Square, Manchester. Noble was a particularly prolific sculptor and, in addition to public statues, he produced numerous portrait busts and funerary monuments. He died at the age of 59 at his home in Kensington, London.

People

Richard Cobden (1804 - 1865)

Places

Subjects

manufacturer, male portrait, sideburns, man, 19th century costume, Member of Parliament

Materials & Techniques

marble, bust (as object name), marble bust

Artist

Matthew Noble (1817 - 1876)

Title

Richard Cobden (1804-1865) manufacturer and politician

Date

1865

Medium

Marble bust

Dimensions

height: 72.00 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Christie's, April 1983

Inscription

verso: Richard Cobden. MP / M. NOBLE / SCULP. / 1865

Provenance

With Phillip Harris (dealer); sold through Christie's, London, on 13 April 1983 (Lot 141); from which sale purchased by the Government Art Collection

GAC number

16170