(1775 - 1856)
Sir Richard Westmacott was born in London; the son of a sculptor by the same name. He studied under Canova in Rome, before being admitted to the Florence Academy. Returning to London in 1797, he established a studio near his father’s. He exhibited 65 sculptures at the Royal Academy in London (1797-1839). He was elected a full member of the Academy in 1811 and succeeded Flaxman as Professor of Sculpture there in 1827. He received an honorary degree from the University of Oxford in 1836 and was knighted in 1837. Westmacott died at his home in South Audley Street, London, at the age of 81. Today, he is best-known for his statuary and monuments, including the figures on the façade of the British Museum and his statue of Achilles in Hyde Park.
