Bust of Revd. John Horne-Tooke

Chantrey established his reputation largely through the faithful realism of his work. A man of humble birth, he had little education and his only training in sculpture was an apprenticeship to a wood carver. Nevertheless, he possessed superb skill and a genuine interest in personality. Such qualities came to the fore in his portrait bust of the radical politician Horn-Tooke. Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1812, it made his reputation. Subsequently, he was commissioned to do a marble statue of the king (destroyed).