Giovanni Battista Amendola

1848 - 1887

Sir George Henschel

(FIRST CONDUCTOR OF THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND THE ROYAL SCOTTISH NATIONAL ORCHESTRA)

1879

Bronze; signed and dated ‘GB. Amendola’/ Londra 1879(?)’; unique cast

43.5 cm the bust; 54.5 cm high overall

Provenance: probably commissioned by George Henschel between 1878-9; the Jennmaur gallery, San Francisco, until acquired in 2022

This vigorously modelled bust is a portrait of Sir George Henschel the German-born - though naturalised British - baritone, pianist, conductor, and composer, that became the first conductor of both the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1881 and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in 1893.

Signed and dated by Amendola in 1879, the portrait reveals various intertwined stories: firstly, of an exceptionally talented Neapolitan sculptor that moved to London in 1878 and who ended up being patronised - and much loved - by one of the greatest painters of late 19th century Britain, the Dutch-born émigré, Lawrence Alma-Tadema.

It also tells the story of Henschel, a relatively unknown concert singer on the London circuit upon his arrival in London in 1877, but one that in less than a decade ascended to great musical heights, accolades and knighthoods. It is also a reminder of Britain’s and, specifically, of London’s place in the world order as a destination and meeting place for innumerable foreign artists, from painters and sculptors to composers and performers from all over Europe that, at the time, sought out patronage and fame in one of the most diverse and burgeoning capitals of the world.