Ickworth House – West Corridor and William Pitt the Younger

This sculpture of William Pitt the Younger is located in the West Corridor at Ickworth House, standing next to the sculpture of the 2nd Earl of Liverpool. And, for anyone who remembers (or cares) from that blog post, this sculpture is on a red porphyry scagliola column with a white marble base. Very technical of me…. I don’t much need to write about William Pitt the Younger as he’s hardly an anonymous person.

Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823) was one of the best known British sculptors during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He was born in London to Flemish immigrant parents (his father was a painter) and he trained under the sculptor Peter Scheemakers the Younger and later spent several years in Rome, where he studied classical sculpture and worked for the renowned antiquarian Gavin Hamilton.

Incidentally, the West Corridor was only completed in 1879 and the Pompeian Room lies at the end of the corridor. The Edwardians painted out all the Victorian artwork on the walls, but much was put back again in 1995.