Bust of Thomas Stothard, R.A., 1826

Edward Hodges Baily RA (1788 - 1867)

RA Collection: Art

This bust was executed when the painter, designer and illustrator Thomas Stothard was seventy one years old. A prolific artist, his illustrations included those for Richardson’s Clarissa, Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield, Pope’s The Rape of the Lock and Sterne’s Tristram Shandy. On a larger scale Stothard contributed history paintings to Boydell’s Shakespeare Gallery, Macklin’s Poets’ Gallery and Bowyer’s Historic Gallery. He was the Royal Academy librarian from 1814 until his death in 1834.

The sculptor Edward Hodges Baily studied under Flaxman. Both he and Stothard began working for the goldsmiths firm Rundell and Bridge within a year of each other (1809-1810). In 1826 Baily succeeded Flaxman as the company’s Chief Modeller and Designer.