William Behnes

William Behnes was an English sculptor and the son of a Hannoverian piano maker. He was brought up in Dublin, where he worked for his father and attended a public drawing school. He entered the Royal Academy Schools in London in 1813 and made a living painting portraits. He began sculpting around 1819 after taking lessons from P.F. Chenu (1760-1833) and soon obtained commissions for portrait busts. One of his early sitters was Princess Victoria (1829). After he had completed his training, he quickly established himself as a talented maker of busts and he was appointed Sculptor in Ordinary to Queen Victoria upon her accession in 1837. At this time, he was the master of a busy studio where he created some fine church monuments, such as Charlotte Botfield (1825), Lady Godiva (1844) and many other portrait statues and busts. His Dr. Babington (1837), Robert Vernon, and Richard Porson (1845) are among the finest examples of Victorian naturalistic portraiture. He also made monuments and statues, the most celebrated of which is the statue of Sir Henry Havelock (1861) in Trafalgar Square, London. Despite the demand for his services, the quality of Behnes work began to deteriorate and his extravagant lifestyle let him to bankruptcy. He died in Middlesex Hospital on the 3rd of January 1864 after he was found lying in a gutter with only three pence in his pocket. His brother Henry (1802-1837) was also a sculptor who worked under the pseudonym of Henry Burlowe.