5 OF 5 
Robert Owen
5 of 5 portraits by James Deville
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- Extended Catalogue Entry
© National Portrait Gallery, London
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Robert Owen
by Julian Leverotti, after a life-mask by James Deville
bronze medallion, 1858
15 in. x 14 in. (381 mm x 356 mm) oval
Given by Joseph W. Corfield, 1880
Primary Collection
NPG 602
Artistsback to top
- James Deville (1776-1846), Sculptor. Artist or producer associated with 5 portraits.
- Julian Leverotti (1844-1916), Artist. Artist or producer associated with 1 portrait.
This portraitback to top
This electrotype, painted as stone, is a version of a medallion made for the monument to Robert Owen which was unveiled in Kensal Green cemetery in 1879. According to Joseph Corfield, who erected the monument and gave the Gallery this medallion, it was modelled by Leverotti from a cast of Owen's head taken from the life by De Ville, a figure maker and phrenologist working in the Strand in London. For information on electrotypes, see Bronze sculpture founders: a short history. For De Ville, see British bronze sculpture founders and plaster figure makers.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 474
- Walker, Richard, Regency Portraits, 1985, p. 379
Events of 1858back to top
Current affairs
After Palmerston's government collapses, the Earl of Derby becomes Prime Minister for second time, again heading a minority government.The Property qualification for MPs is abolished; one of the demands made by the Chartists, this allowed men who did not own property to stand as parliamentary candidates. Lionel Nathan Rothschild becomes the first Jew to sit in Britain's House of Commons, taking his oath on the Old Testament.
Art and science
The pianist Charles Hallé founds a symphony orchestra in Manchester, the Halle; now Britain's oldest professional orchestra. The Hallé symphony rose to prominence in the mid-20th century, under the tenure of conductor John Barbirolli, during which time they made many recordings, including Ralph Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 8.International
The British Crown assumes control of India from the East India Company.The Treaty of Tientsin, ending the Second Opium War, gives European powers new rights to intervene in Chinese affairs
The Fenian Brotherhood is founded by John O'Mahony, an Irish emigrant to the United States, to support Irish republican ambitions.
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