Best known for his public sculpture, John Henry Foley was born in Dublin where he began his studies, continuing on to the Royal Academy Schools in London. He first exhibited at the RA in 1839 and was elected a member of the Academy in 1858. It is reported however that Foley ceased exhibiting at the Academy in 1861 following an alleged argument over the display of his work. He continued to work on commissions, the best known of which include his Oliver Goldsmith and Henry Gratton on College Green
in Dublin, and the most famous being the O'Connell monument. In the UK are his Lord Herbert at Waterloo Place and his figure of Albert in the group Asia at the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park in London.
Read more
