Sir William Hamo Thornycroft 1850-1925 A WARRIOR BEARING A WOUNDED YOUTH FROM THE FIELD OF BATTLE

bronze, warm brown patina, signed H. THORNYCROFT Sc with inscription ART UNION OF LONDON 1877 and COX & SONS FOUNDERS.

Thornycroft's Warrior is a key work from the formative years of the New Sculpture movement. In 1875 it won the Royal Academy's biennial Gold Medal for the 'Best Work of Sculpture,' in competition with Alfred Gilbert. The latter admitted that "he had been beaten by the best man." The Warrior shows the influence of Thornycroft's visit to France and Italy in 1871, and the group was guaranteed a prominent place in the history of the New Sculpture when the Art Union of London purchased rights to the group after it was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1876.