William Theed, also known as William Theed, the younger was an English sculptor, the son of the sculptor and painter William Theed the elder. Although versatile and eclectic in his works, he specialised in portraiture, and his services were extensively used by the Royal Family.
Career
Theed was born in Trentham, Staffordshire. Initially trained by his father, Theed the younger worked for several years in the studio of EH Baily the sculptor, and on 15 January 1820 was admitted to the Royal Academy Schools. In 1826 he went to Rome. In Rome, Theed is believed to have studied under Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen and Italian Pietro Tenerani, as well as John Gibson and Richard James Wyatt. Here he worked in marble creating statues and busts, including those for the Duke of Lucca and the Prince and Princess of Capua. In 1844-5, after nearly 20 years in Rome, he received a commission from Prince Albert, then the prince consort, who had asked John Gibson to send designs for statues to be placed in Osborne House. Two designs by Theed were accepted, Narcissus at the Fountain and Psyche Lamenting the Loss of Cupid both in marble. Theed returned to London in 1848 and soon established a highly successful professional practice. He is known to have married, assumed to be around this time, a woman called Mary and had a son Edward, both listed in the 1881 census. In 1851 he displayed three pieces at the Great Exhibition, the most notable a marble of The Prodigal's Return, a life-size piece, elaborately carved. From London he made further pieces for the prince consort, including a series of mythological reliefs for the reception rooms of Buckingham Palace. Another notable piece for the Royal Family was a series of twelve bas-reliefs illustrating scenes from Tudor history, this time in bronze, which were made for the Prince's chamber in the Palace of Westminster.
Portrait sculpture
The major aspect of Theed's production, however, was portraiture, with which he received commissions for major commemorative statues. Most notably are:
Having been appointed by Queen Victoria to take the death mask of the prince in 1861 he went on to produce several notable memorial statues including those at Balmoral Castle.
He also executed a sculpture of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, of which a copy is in the National Portrait Gallery, London while the original is retained in the Royal Collection. The descriptive label beside the copy in the National Portrait Gallery reads: On the plinth of Theed's original in the Royal Collection is a single line from the poem 'The Deserted Village' by Oliver Goldsmith : "...Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride, / And e'en his failings lean'd to Virtue's side; / But in his duty prompt at every call, / He watch'd and wept, he pray'd and felt, for all. / And, as a bird each fond endearment tries / To tempt its new-fledg'd offspring to the skies, / He tried each art, reprov'd each dull delay, / ALLURED TO BRIGHTER WORLDS, AND LED THE WAY." Martin Greenwood's biographical article mentions that this sculpture, which had been completed for the Queen, is also known as 'The Parting'.
