Thomas Denman (1787–1861) was a 19th century English sculptor.

Life

Robert Burns statue attributed to John Flaxman but created by Thomas Denman

He was born in 1787 the son of William Denman and his wife Ann. They lived on Mansell Street in the Aldgate district of London, close to the Tower of London.[1]

He attended the Royal Academy schools from 1807 and won their Silver Medal for sculpture in 1813. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1815 to 1836 and at the British Institution from 1818 to 1827.[1]

He was working in the studio of his brother-in-law John Flaxman at the time of Flaxman's death in 1826, and was responsible for completing several of his unfinished projects.[1] Although occasionally acknowledged as the true sculptor, Flaxman is regularly credited with works after his own death. The statue of Robert Burns was placed in the Burns Monument on Calton Hill in 1830, almost certainly created after Flaxman's death. However, most of Denman's commissions seem to have come via the Flaxman studio and work gradually dried up.[2]

He was declared bankrupt in 1847 and was living in Battersea in "reduced circumstances" in 1850. He died in 1861.[3]

Family

His sister Nancy Denman married the eminent sculptor John Flaxman. Flaxman took a shine to the younger daughter of the Denman family, Maria Denman, and left Maria a great deal in his will.[1] Flaxman's portrait of Maria is held in the Soane Museum.[4]

Known artworks

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851; by Rupert Gunnis; p. 127
  2. ↑ Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh; by Gifford, McWilliam and Walker
  3. ↑ "Biography of Thomas Denman Sculptor 1790-1861".
  4. ↑ "Portrait of Miss Maria Denman (fl. 1808 - 1861), sister-in-law of the sculptor John Flaxman".
  5. ↑ "Biography of Thomas Denman Sculptor 1790-1861".
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