Probably by Edward Hodges Baily, 'Getty Entrance Sculptures', 1826-32
About the group
Overview
The National Gallery’s Getty Entrance is surmounted with a figure of Victory, framed by another full-length, draped female figure in each of the niches to left and right. This pair of flanking winged figures carry attributes to identify who they are: both clasping a palette and paintbrushes, they symbolise the art of painting fostered inside the building. All three statues are the work of the British neoclassical sculptor Edward Hodges Baily, although he made them not for the National Gallery but for the Marble Arch, a monument intended to celebrate Britain’s defeat of the French in the Napoleonic Wars. When the figures were repurposed to adorn the nation’s public art gallery in a cost-cutting exercise, their original military accoutrements of spear and shield were transformed into more appropriate brushes and palettes.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Getty Entrance Sculptures
- Artist
- Probably by Edward Hodges Baily
- Artist dates
- 1788 - 1867
- Date made
- 1826-32
- Medium and support
- Portland stone
- Inventory number
- H213-H215
- Collection
- Contextual Collection
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
Works in the group
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Probably by Edward Hodges BailyThis winged Victory, along with its pair, accompanies another figure of Victory on the façade above the National Gallery’s Getty Entrance. They, and five similar figures, are the work of the British neoclassical sculptor, Edward Hodges Baily. Both the winged figures clasp a palette and paintbrush... -
Probably by Edward Hodges BailyThis Victory, along with the winged Victories to its left and right, is the work of the British neoclassical sculptor, Edward Hodges Baily. Together with another five female figures, they adorn the façade of the National Gallery.In 1826, Baily received a large order for sculpture, including four... -
Probably by Edward Hodges BailyThis winged Victory, along with its pair, accompanies another figure of Victory on the façade above the National Gallery’s Getty Entrance. They, and five similar figures, are the work of the British neoclassical sculptor, Edward Hodges Baily. Both the winged figures clasp a palette and paintbrush...
Images
More works by Edward Hodges Baily
