John Bacon the Elder (1740-1799), Sculptor

Sitter in 9 portraits
Artist associated with 5 portraits
John Bacon the Elder was a sculptor, responsible for some important monuments, and a variety of statues in London and elsewhere. He was born in Southwark, son of a clothworker, learnt modelling under a porcelain maker in Lambeth, and by 1867 had become a modeller for Mrs Coade's Lambeth factory, while studying at the Royal Academy Schools. He later also worked for Wedgwood. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1770, and full Academician in 1777, and it was from around this time that he began to win major commissions for sculptural works, including in 1779 the monument to Chatham in Westminster Abbey. His son, John Bacon the Younger, was also a sculptor.