After Albert Bruce-Joy, Irish, 1842-1924, a marble statue of William Ewart Gladstone, 1809-98, late 19th century, with left hand outstretched and right hand clutching a document, standing beside an octagonal column with three books resting on top, 99cm high

Provenance: The Property of the late Lord Avebury.

Note: Liberal party statesman and four times Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone was one of the most revered politicians of the 19th Century. Renowned for his intense rivalry with Benjamin Disraeli, Gladstone was an outstanding orator and a passionate campaigner for reform, Irish Home Rule and an ethical foreign policy.

This marble is after a bronze original unveiled on Wednesday 9th August 1882 in Bow, East London. At the unveiling of the statue by The Rt. Hon. Lord Charlingford, the politician's son said: "Seldom if ever has the hand of a sculptor succeeded in producing so admirable and faithful a likeness." Another commented: "It seems to breathe the deep earnestness, the dignity and intellectual power of the statesman whom we used to call the 'Grand Old Man'." The statue was commissioned by match makers Bryant and May, to commemorate the overturning of Gladstones Chancellor of the Exchequer Robert Lowes infamous match tax. Since 1988 the hands of the original bronze have been painted red, a reference to the matchgirls of the factory striking for better working conditions, and also an urban myth that the bronze was paid for with docked wages from the matchgirls' salary.

Albert Bruce-Joy was born in Dublin and primarily worked in England, exhibiting at the Royal Academy from 1866. He also visited and exhibited in Boston, New York and Philadelphia. His most prominent works are the portrait busts in Westminster Abbey, St.Pauls Cathedral and The House of Commons.