Alfred Stevens and the Wellington Memorial in London’s St Paul’s Cathedral
A tragic story lies behind this remarkable monument
Alfred George Stevens, Victorian painter and sculptor, might have been far better known if he had managed to be more skilful as a businessman. He must go down as a failed genius because of his inability to finish his projects, this being due largely to the exacting standards that he set for himself.
Alfred Stevens’s Early Career
He was born in Blandford, Dorset, on 31st December 1817, the son of a house painter. He was largely self-taught, having spent the years from 1833 to 1842 studying classical and Renaissance art in Italy.
On returning to England, he taught design and worked on a number of projects, including designs for the lions that adorn the railings outside the British Museum and the mosaics of four prophets inside the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral.
He also worked on more prosaic designs, such as for domestic stoves and fenders on behalf of a foundry in Sheffield.
Alfred Stevens worked for six years on designs for murals at Dorchester House, on Park Lane. These were never completed, and would have been lost in any case when the house was demolished in 1929 to make way for the Dorchester Hotel…