John Bacon

Who was John Bacon?

John Bacon was an English sculptor.

Bacon was the second son of the sculptor John Bacon R.A. He entered the Royal Academy Schools at the age of twelve. At fifteen he exhibited his first work, at sixteen he was awarded the silver medal of the Royal Academy, and at seventeen the gold. His prize work was a statue of Cassandra. His father died in 1799, and John Bacon, junior, succeeded to his business. He finished such works as he found in progress, including the well-known statue of Lord Cornwallis, and managed to secure ample patronage for himself. He ceased to exhibit at the Academy in 1824. There are six of his monuments in St. Paul's Cathedral, and some in Westminster Abbey. He died in 1859.

He contributed to Rees's Cyclopaedia articles on Sculpture, but the topics are not known.

A brother, Thomas Bacon, also obtained some reputation as a sculptor. He exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1793–5. The statue of William III in St. James's Square, erected in 1808, was his work.