Queen Victoria, 1819 - 1901. Reigned 1837 - 1901
About this artwork
Queen Victoria sat to Alexander Brodie at Balmoral in 1865 and 1866. He had been asked to produce a statue (now at Aberdeen City Chambers) and this bust. The queen wanted the results to look distinctly Scottish, so Brodie included a thistle on the neckline of her dress, alongside the English rose and Irish clover. Brodie was a perfectionist, and his anxiety over this commission is thought to have been a factor in his suicide, aged thirty-seven, in 1867. William, his elder brother, finished the bust.
Updated before 2020
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artists:
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title:Queen Victoria, 1819 - 1901. Reigned 1837 - 1901
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date created:1865
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materials:Marble
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measurements:67.70 cm (height)
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object type:
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credit line:Transferred from the National Gallery of Scotland
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accession number:PG 1068
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depicted:
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subject:
Alexander Brodie
Alexander Brodie
Alexander Brodie was the son of a shipmaster and merchant seaman. His brother was the sculptor William Brodie. Alexander served an apprenticeship as a brass-finisher at a foundry in Aberdeen. Like William, he showed artistic promise and with the support of his brother’s earliest patron, Sheriff...