Offered by Vagabond Antiques
WHITE MARBLE BUST OF A LADY, signed and dated 1865
GEORGE MACCALLUM (SCOTTISH 1840-1868)
A wonderfully well sculpted marble bust of a lady by Scottish sculptor George Maccallum, although the bust is of impressive scale, the sculptor has taken care to maintain a feminity with the curving of the shoulders and particular attention to the ringlets of her hair.
Note: George Maccallum was an Edinburgh-born sculptor active in the second half of the nineteenth century. Maccallum was a pupil of William Brodie and may have joined the studio of sculptor Alexander Handyside Ritchie before setting up on his own. His portrait busts and statuettes quickly earned the approval of art critics and fellow artists. From 1860 onwards, he exhibited each year at the Royal Scottish Academy, and The Scotsman newspaper looked forward to MAccallum's promising future. Then, in later summer 1868 he was 'suddenly seized [...] with some fainting fits.' He died of heart disease a few days later, aged twenty-eight. At his death, Maccallum was working on the group representing the working class for the Scottish National Memorial to the Prince Consort in Charlotte Square, Edinburgh.
