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Buckingham Palace and St Andrews Square

Artist: Gamley, Henry Snell, RSA · 1865-1928

Buckingham Palace and St Andrews Square

The sketchbook is unsigned and undated but contains sketches and notes relating to works by Gamley known to have been commenced, exhibited or…

The sketchbook is unsigned and undated but contains sketches and notes relating to works by Gamley known to have been commenced, exhibited or completed within the given date range.

The sketchbook is virtually complete, lacking only two leaves. The majority of the leaves are completely blank (recto and verso), there are a number of sketches which appear for the most part to relate to ideas for sculptures and included also are pencil notes and several pages relating to his visit to Buckingham Palace to model the head for the memorial statue of King Edward VII at Holyrood [?exhib RSA 1917]. Leaves 1-5, 21, 22 and 65 have all been drawn inverted to the intended orientation of the sketchbook. Leaves 10(v) and 11(r & v) may be early workings for the Cupar War Memorial but the pose does not conform to that of the Victory figure there; Leaves 15-17 inc. identified by R H Rodger as possible preparatory sketches related to Gamley’s full size kilted figure of Gen David Stewart of Garth in Glenlyon; Leaf 17(V) identified by R H Rodger as the reverse face of the Egypt Medal instituted by the British Government in October 1882 and issued 1882-89. Leaf 22(v) probably sketch of Sydney March’s 1902 marble bust of King Edward VII, Royal Collection ref RCIN 31626 (https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/search#/12/collection/31626/edward-vii-1841-1910) vide also ref to his seeing this bust in pencil notes on Leaves 33(v) and 34(r); Leaf 33(r) appears to be a sketch of a meal served to Gamley at Buckingham Palace (vide notes Leaf 34(v); Leaf 71(v) may relate to the setting of Gamley’s King Edward VII Memorial statue within the wall and railings design of Sir George Washington Browne PRSA at Holyrood palace; Leaves 74-77 inc. identified as preparatory sketches for the exterior carved statuary of Musical Achievement and Musical Inspiration on the Grindlay Street façade of the Usher Hall in Edinburgh (for images prior to their being enclosed behind the new screen wall linking the Usher Hall and Lyceum Theatre, vide http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/rcahms/52696/edinburgh-lothian-road-usher-hall/rcahms?item=1024143 (Musical Achievement) and http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/rcahms/52696/edinburgh-lothian-road-usher-hall/rcahms?item=1024143 (Musical Inspiration)).

During the original numbering of the leaves in 2006 one leaf (between L31 and L32) was accidentally missed. Rather than renumbering all the subsequent leaves the missing leaf has been numbered 31A.