Details of Sculptor

Surname

Francis

Alternative Surname

First Name

John

Initial of Surname

F

Year of Birth/Baptism

1780

Flourished

Year of Death

1861

Biographical Details

Francis was born in Lincoln in 1780 and began his working life as a farmer in Thornham, Norfolk, marrying the local miller’s daughter, Mary Evetts of Burnham Thorpe, a relation of Lord Nelson. In 1806 he travelled to London to attend Nelson’s funeral and on his return carved a model of the funeral carriage from pieces of jet he had collected at the seashore. A member of the influential Vernon family saw the model and encouraged him to take up sculpture, promising future patronage. Thomas William Coke, the renowned agriculturist of nearby Holkham Hall, also took an interest in Francis and advised him to go to London and study with an established sculptor. Francis took this advice and worked first under Samuel Joseph and then with Francis Chantrey. He found it hard to make a living as a sculptor and was forced to return three times to the Norfolk farm.
He exhibited at the Royal Academy for the first time in 1820, showing busts of his patron Thomas William Coke (26) and Sir William Bolton, who had served at Trafalgar (25). Two years later he exhibited a bust of Horatia Nelson (27) and subsequently decided to settle permanently in London with his wife and four children. His wife was evidently not happy with this arrangement for she threw one of his first commissioned busts out of a window. Over the next few years he receieved a number of prestigious orders for busts, including heads of George IV and Queen Caroline, and of the late Princess Charlotte (29, 33).
In 1830 Francis rescued a woman who had jumped from a bridge into the Serpentine and so was awarded a testimonial on vellum by the Royal Humane Society. This brought him to the attention of the Duke of Sussex, who took a keen interest in the Society and, being much impressed by his character, became one of his most important patrons. It was no doubt through the Duke’s influence that he became a favourite sculptor of the Whig party, carving portraits, amongst others, of Earl Grey (47), Earl Russell (49) Lord Brougham (57) and Earl Spencer (63), all prominent supporters of the 1832 Reform Bill. Francis also provided busts of the Duke’s brothers and fellow freemasons, King William IV and the late Duke of Kent (52, 54).
In 1835, Thomas Thornycroft, an immature young man from Cheshire with an aptitude for sculpture, was introduced to the Duke of Sussex. The Duke suggested that Thornycroft should go to London and become one of Francis’s pupils, where he would gain useful instruction whilst being kept away from the temptations of city life. Thornycroft arrived at Albany Street, Regents Park and joined the Francis household, which included two other pupils, Joseph Durham and Matthew Noble He found contentment and purpose with the homely Francis family and in 1840 married the eldest daughter, Mary Francis (Thornycroft).
Francis continued his association with the royal family, executing a bust of Queen Victoria in 1837, the year of her accession (64). When she married in 1840 he was asked to carve a bust of Prince Albert (74). The prince took a keen interest in sculpture and early in 1844 he commissioned Francis to assist him with a bust of his father, the Duke of Saxe Coburg, who had recently died (80). The prince himself was actively involved in modelling the head when it was dropped and, as the Queen noted in her diary on 3 March, ‘was broken into atoms or rather squashed to a lump’ (Roberts 1987, 116, n 105). Francis re-worked the bust, the prince made the finishing touches and a few days later the royal couple watched the casting process. Prince Albert’s much-loved greyhound died in 1844 and Francis was called to Windsor to work on a model of the dog under the Prince’s direction. The bronze statue was placed over the dog’s grave in the Home Park at Windsor and a cast was made for the terrace at Osborne House, Isle of Wight (20). The model was exhibited at the RA in 1848.
Francis continued to be a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy until 1857, principally showing largely portrait busts. He had the satisfaction of seeing his daughter Mary Thornycroft follow in his footsteps to become one of the royal family’s favourite sculptors. He died on 30 August 1861, aged 81, at his home in Albany Street and was buried at Highgate Cemetery.
Sylvia Allen
Literary References: Graves 1905-6, III, pp 159-160; Thornycroft 1932, 6-13; Manning 1982, 21-24, 39; Roberts 1987, 116-17; Wake 1988, 89
Archival References: Royal Humane Society Records, Annual Report, 1831, 42-44