Mary Thornycroft (1814 – 1 February 1895) was a British sculptor

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

 and a member of the Thornycroft family

Thornycroft family

The Thornycroft family was a notable English family of sculptors, artists and engineers, connected by marriage to the historic Sassoon family. The earliest known mention of the family is stated in George Ormerod's History of Cheshire as during the reign of Henry III in the 13th century, taking its...

.

Biography

The daughter of sculptor John Francis

John Francis (sculptor)

-Life:He was born in Lincolnshire 3 September 1780, and was intended to go into farming. He settled in London from, where he became a pupil of Samuel Joseph and Francis Leggatt Chantrey. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1820 a bust of Thomas William Coke, and another of Captain Sir W....

, she was born at Thornham

Thornham

Thornham may refer to:*Thornham, Greater Manchester*Thornham, Norfolk...

, Norfolk

Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

. She studied sculpture under her father, and exhibited at the Royal Academy at the age of twenty-one.

Mary married, in 1840, Thomas Thornycroft

Thomas Thornycroft

Thomas Thornycroft was an English sculptor and engineer.-Biography:Thomas Thornycroft was born near Gawsworth, Cheshire, the eldest son of John Thornycroft, a farmer. He was educated at Congleton Grammar School and then briefly apprenticed to a surgeon. He moved to London where he spent four...

, who was a pupil of John Francis and also became a sculptor; they travelled to Italy and lived and worked for a time in Rome. There she became the friend of Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish-Icelandic sculptor of international fame, who spent most of his life in Italy . Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a Danish/Icelandic family of humble means, and was accepted to the Royal Academy of Arts when he was eleven years old...

 and of John Gibson

John Gibson (sculptor)

John Gibson, was a Welsh sculptor.-Early life:He was born near Conwy, Wales, his father being a market gardener. To his mother, whom he described as ruling his father and all the family, he owed the energy and determination which carried him over every obstacle.When he was nine years old the...

. On her return to London she was recommended by Gibson to Queen Victoria, for whom she executed numerous busts and statues, chiefly of the royal children. In the drawing-room at Osborne House

Osborne House

Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat....

 there were nine life-size marble statues of the young princes and princesses modelled by her. Besides these she executed a number of busts of private individuals, as well as a few ideal statues. Among the latter is her well-known figure of a ‘Skipping Girl’. She died on 1 February 1895.

She gave lessons in sculpting to Princess Louise

Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll

The Princess Louise was a member of the British Royal Family, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, Prince Consort.Louise's early life was spent moving between the various royal residences in the...

, one of Victoria's daughters, who went on to work in her own right.

Family

Thomas and Mary had six children who grew to adulthood, two sons (Hamo and John Isaac), and four daughters (Alyce, Theresa, Helen and Frances). Hamo Thornycroft

Hamo Thornycroft

Sir William "Hamo" Thornycroft, RA was a British sculptor, responsible for several London landmarks.-Biography:...

 took up their profession, while daughters Alyce, Theresa Thornycroft

Theresa Thornycroft

Theresa Thornycroft was an English sculptor and member of the Thornycroft family of artists. Her brother Sir Hamo Thornycroft RA, sisters Alyce Thornycroft and Helen Thornycroft were all artists, while her brother Sir John Isaac Thornycroft was the founder of the Thornycroft shipbuilding company...

, and Helen Thornycroft

Helen Thornycroft

Helen Thornycroft was an English painter of the Victorian era.She was a member of the well-known Thornycroft family of sculptors, which included her maternal grandfather John Francis, her father Thomas Thornycroft, her mother Mary Thornycroft, and her younger brother Hamo Thornycroft...

 were all artists. John Isaac Thornycroft

John Isaac Thornycroft

Sir John Isaac Thornycroft was a British shipbuilder, the founder of the Thornycroft shipbuilding company and member of the Thornycroft family.-Biography:He was born in 1843 to Mary Francis and Thomas Thornycroft....

 became a marine engineer. Mary and Thomas were the grandparents of Siegfried Sassoon

Siegfried Sassoon

Siegfried Loraine Sassoon CBE MC was an English poet, author and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches, and satirised the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's...

, the war poet, through their daughter Theresa, who married Alfred Ezra Sassoon.