Henry Reeve CB DCL (1813-1895) translator and magazine editor

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Middlesex Guildhall

This marble bust is of Henry Reeve, a translator and magazine editor who became Registrar of the Privy Council. It shows Reeve bare-chested, without contemporary clothing or the typical drapery of contemporary neo-classical busts.

John Bell, sculptor, was born in Suffolk and moved to London at about 16. After studying at Henry Sass’s School, he entered the Royal Academy Schools. He later exhibited at the Academy, British Institution and Society of British Artists. His subjects included portraits, religious, literary and mythological themes. His most popular sculpture, ‘The Eagle Slayer’ (1841), was produced several times in bronze, marble and iron. He was involved in instigating the Great Exhibition and the South Kensington Museum (V&A). Some works were reproduced by pottery manufacturers, including ‘Dorothea’; a best seller for Minton. He also designed decorative art objects, including fish-knives, bread-platters and a table. He died in Kensington, aged 83.

People

Henry Reeve (1813 - 1895)

Places

Subjects

male portrait, man, Clerk of Appeals, civil servant

Materials & Techniques

marble, sculpture (as object name), marble sculpture, bust (as object name)

Artist

John Bell (1811 - 1895)

Title

Henry Reeve CB DCL (1813-1895) translator and magazine editor

Date

c1876

Medium

Marble bust

Dimensions

height: 36.00 cm, width: 42.00 cm, depth: 21.00 cm

Acquisition

origin uncertain - acquired by Privy Council Office, date unknown

Inscription

recto on brass plaque: HENRY REEVE, C.B., D.C.C. / 1813 - 1895 / CLERK OF APPEALS 1837 - 1853 / REGISTRAR OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL / 1853 - 1887 / BY JOHN BELL; verso: J. BELL. SG 18 1/5. / HENRY REEVE / Aetat_LXII.

Provenance

Privy Council Office; transferred to GAC 2009

GAC number

18287