John Gibson RA: A British Sculptor in Rome
Curator's Collection talk
Friday 4 November 2016 2.30 - 3pm
Tennant Gallery, entrance via De Grey Court
Free with an exhibition ticket (no booking required).
John Gibson RA
Annette Wickham, Curator of Works on Paper at the RA, introduces 'John Gibson RA: A British Sculptor in Rome', the first temporary exhibition to focus on this artist.
Gibson was the son of a gardener, and worked in his teens as an apprentice to a cabinetmaker in Liverpool. Inspired by his passion for art and the classical world, he moved to Rome in 1817, where he studied under the sculptor Antonio Canova and created graceful sculptures in the popular neoclassical style.
This display features a selection of sculptures, plaster casts and drawings from Gibson’s studio, which he bequeathed to the Royal Academy in 1866. This Curator’s Collection Talk will explore the story behind Gibson’s studio – which became a tourist attraction for visitors to Rome – and the transfer of its legacy to the Royal Academy.