Details of Sculptor

Surname

Cranfield

Alternative Surname

First Name

Richard

Initial of Surname

C

Year of Birth/Baptism

1731

Flourished

Year of Death

1809

Biographical Details

He was the son or nephew of Richard Cranfield of Abbey Street, a joiner and gilder who died in October 1750. In 1756 he was awarded a premium of £6 by the Dublin Society for a work of sculpture. He lived at this time on Hog Hill, but by 1765, when he exhibited at the Society’s exhibition, he had moved to Church Lane. He later became treasurer of the Society of Artists and when the Society became bankrupt, their exhibition house in William Street fell into his hands. From 1783 he was in business with his son, John Smith Cranfield. He appears to have prospered for he owned properties in Irishtown and Sandymount. On retiring in 1797 he took up residence at Tritonville Lodge, Sandymount and founded ‘Cranfield’s Baths’ at Merrion. He died on 21 January 1809 and was buried at St Andrews.
Literary References: Strickland 1, 1913, 218-20