About this artwork
James Watt achieved lasting fame as an engineer and scientist with his improvement of Newcomen's steam engine. After years of experimentation, in 1775 he entered into a partnership with businessman Matthew Boulton to produce the improved engine. Their success led to the opening of a purpose-built steam engine factory in 1796, after which Watt gradually withdrew from active participation. By 1814, when he commissioned his bust from Chantrey, Watt was a national – if reluctant – celebrity. Following its exhibition in 1815 at the Royal Academy, the bust was frequently reproduced in full-scale marble and plaster replicas, miniature copies in ivory for the mass market and commemorative medals, which is why this particular depiction of Watt is so well known.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey (1781 - 1841) English
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title:James Watt, 1736 - 1819. Engineer and inventor
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date created:About 1815
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materials:Marble
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measurements:52.30 cm (height)
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1932
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accession number:PG 1186
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gallery:
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depicted:
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subject:
Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey
Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey
Sir Francis Chantrey was the most outstanding sculptor of his generation. Although his beginnings were humble and his skills mainly self-taught, he had a hugely successful career as a sculptor of portrait busts, statues, public monuments and funerary memorials. His sitters came from a wide spectrum...