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Title:
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Adam Smith
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Artist: |
Baron Carlo Marochetti
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Kirkcaldy was the birthplace of the philosopher and economist, Adam Smith. This life-sized marble bust of him was presented to the town of Kirkcaldy in 1851 by John Fergus, M.P. for Fife, and appears to have been commissioned by him from Marochetti as a token of his adherence to the cause of Free Trade. It was inaugurated in the Council Chamber on the 6 August 1851 (Caledonian Mercury, 7 Aug. 1851), and on this occasion, a letter addressed by Fergus to Provost Sang, was read out to the town council. It ran, "I am about to send to your address a marble bust of the late Dr Adam Smith, which with its granite pedestal, I wish to present through you to the Magistrates and Town Council. It is the work of the Baron Marochetti, who is favourably known in Scotland by his bronze statue of the Duke of Wellington in Glasgow, and whose reputation as a sculptor is one of the first in Europe. We have often regretted that our town retained no memorial of this great man............... It was more than fifty years before the sound principles of political philosophy which he promulgated were permittesd to have any practical effect in the commercial policy of the country. They had truth and justice only to recommend them, and they made their way slowly against prejudice and class interests. Their triumph is now accomplished, for they have won the concurrence of men of all parties whose assent to their truth could be a tribute of any value - and to their influence in our Legislation we owe that plenty and contentment which has at length reached the 'abodes of industry'".
The Caledonian Mercury recorded that the gift of the bust, with its pedestal of Peterhead granite, was accepted by the council "with lively expressions of gratitude". The provost and magistrates determined to wait upon John Fergus, "to thank him in the name of the town for his handsome present". The bust, which has remained in Kirkcaldy ever since, was transferred to the custody of the Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery in 1972. Since then it has been placed in the Adam Smith Theatre in the town. A plaster model of the bust was amongst the works of art sold in Marochetti's studio sale following his death (Lot 130). The sculptor appears to have retained another marble version of the bust, which he lent to Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition in 1857. Bronze casts of the bust were offered for sale by the jeweller and silversmith, C.F. Hancock (advertisement in the Morning Post, 4 Dec. 1854, and following issues). A bronze cast, possibly of the type offered by Hancock, is in the collection of Balliol College, Oxford.
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Material(s): |
Marble
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Medium: |
Unassigned |
Finish: |
- |
Technique: |
Carved |
Genre: |
Portrait Bust
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Colours: |
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Year: |
1851 |
Height: |
0 metres |
Width: |
0 metres |
Depth: |
0 metres |
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Key: |
2406 |
Acc. No.: |
2406 |
Col. No.: |
2406 |
Number of views: |
2782 |
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