FDA-Sc.33-2017
Parts
Object number
FDA-Sc.33-2017
Object type
Identification
Title
William Ewart Gladstone
Description
Sculpted bust of a man, with short hair and beard, in classical drapery
Comments
'The only vacant pedestal in Upper School has been filled by a bust of Mr. Gladstone, erected and partly paid for by old Etonian members of the two Houses of Parliament. It is an exact copy, by Mr. G. G. Adams, of a bust executed some thirty years ago by Sir Edgar Boehm for the Earl of Northbrook. It therefore represents Mr. Gladstone in the zenith of his powers, and will be valued by those who come after us both as a memorial of a great Etonian, and as a fine work of art. Eton has no politics when it is a question of commemorating her worthy sons. This is sufficiently shewn, both by the company of eminent statesmen in which the new bust finds itself, and by the fact that the Committee for erecting it contained the name of Mr. Arthur Balfour no less than that of Lord Rosebery. We hope that other old Etonians will not be deterred from endeavouring to attain the needful standard of merit for Eton's crowning honour by the fact mentioned above—namely, that the Upper School, as at present arranged, has no more room for them.'
['Bust of Mr. Gladstone', Eton College Chronicle, No. 784, Monday, December 13, 1897, p.447]
'The busts in Upper School were added in the 1840's, in the reign of that fanatical protestant, Provost Hodgson... Shelley and Mr Gladstone were the lastest admissions... I do not know who got Mr Gladstone in, but it must have gone against many a grain and it is to everyone's credit that he was awarded so honourable a position.'
['Eton Busts' by Oliver van Oss, Etoniana, No. 123, November 29, 1969, p.353]
['Bust of Mr. Gladstone', Eton College Chronicle, No. 784, Monday, December 13, 1897, p.447]
'The busts in Upper School were added in the 1840's, in the reign of that fanatical protestant, Provost Hodgson... Shelley and Mr Gladstone were the lastest admissions... I do not know who got Mr Gladstone in, but it must have gone against many a grain and it is to everyone's credit that he was awarded so honourable a position.'
['Eton Busts' by Oliver van Oss, Etoniana, No. 123, November 29, 1969, p.353]
Other number
FDA-A.133-2010
Description
Content (person)
Dimension note
27¼in. high
Inscription
Signed and dated: '1897'
Lettered on wall sconce beneath bust: 'GLADSTONE'
Lettered on wall sconce beneath bust: 'GLADSTONE'
Material
marble
Production
Person
Date
1897
History and association
Object history note
Provenance: Commissioned by Eton College in 1896/7, funded by subscription, by Old Etonian members of the House of Lords and House of Commons
