John Henry Foley
, Irish, 1818-1874
Title
Catherine Jane Prendergast (née Annesley) (1811-1839)Date1845
MediumMarble
Dimensions
62 cm
SignedJ.H. FOLEY. Sc./LONDON 1845
Credit LinePresented, Major B.R. Cooper, the sitter's great-grandson, 1927
Object numberNGI.8045
InscriptionCATHERINE. JANE. PRENDERGASTProvenancePresented, Major Bryan Cooper, 1927 Exhibition HistoryRoyal Academy of Arts, London, 1845
Irish Portraits 1660-1860, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 14 August - 14 October 1969; National Portrait Gallery, London, 30 October 1969 - 4 January 1970; Ulster Museum, Belfast, 28 January - 9 March 1970
Label TextPrendergast lived in Madras, where she had five children with her husband Guy Lushington Prendergast, an employee in the Civil Service. Following her untimely death, Catherine’s husband visited London, where he commissioned Foley to produce this bust. During the Victorian period it was not unusual for bereaved families to commission posthumous sculptures of their loved ones. Artists would often work from relatives’ descriptions and from sketches, miniatures or silhouettes made during their subject’s life.