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MenuHomeUpfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon | WATTS, George FredericBorn: 1817 02 23Died: 1904 07 01 Artist | ||||
Watts was born in Marylebone, London on the birthday of George Frederic Handel (after whom he was named), to the second wife of a poor piano-maker. He showed artistic promise very early, learning sculpture from the age of 10 with William Behnes, starting to devotedly study the Elgin Marbles (later writing "It was from them alone that I learned") and then enrolling as a student at the Royal Academy at the age of 18. He spent most of his life as a painter and many of his paintings are held at the Tate Gallery – he donated 18 of his symbolic paintings to the Tate in 1897, and three more in 1900. During his last years Watts also turned to sculpture. His most famous work, the 1902 large bronze statue Physical Energy, depicts a naked man on horseback shielding his eyes from the sun as he looks ahead of him. It was originally intended to be dedicated to Muhammad, Attila, Tamerlane and Genghis Khan, thought by Watts to epitomise the raw energetic will to power. A cast was placed at the Rhodes Memorial in Cape Town, South Africa, honouring the grandiose imperial vision of Cecil John Rhodes. Watts' essay "Our Race as Pioneers" indicated his support for imperialism, which he believed to be a progressive force. There is also a casting of this sculpture in London's Kensington Gardens, overlooking the north-west side of the Serpentine. For more information visit Wikipedia. List of projects With photographs With notes
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