The Goatherd's Daughter (also known as The Shepherdess),” by Charles Leonard Hartwell (1873-1951). 1922; exhibited 1929; installed in this spot only in 1994. Bronze. St John's Lodge Gardens, Regent's Park, London. Tucked away in a corner against a wall of foliage is this rather sad-looking rustic beauty, tenderly holding a kid-goat under one arm. The pathos here seems intended. The inscription on the pedestal reads: TO ALL THE PROTECTORS OF THE DEFENCELESS. The sculpture was erected in honour of Harold and Gertrude Baillie Weaver (humanitarians, and animal welfare campaigners)” by the National Council for Animal Welfare, which they were instrumental in founding. This was the work for which Hartwell was awarded the Silver Medal of the Royal British Society of Sculptors in July 1929.
Closer views of the girl's downcast face, and the kid-goat. The girl's melting look is a variant of the self-absorbed expression typical of the New Sculptors (see, for example, Alfred Gilbert's Monument to Queen Alexandra). As for the delightful little goat, Hartwell was particularly good at animals, as shown also in his A Foul in the Giants' Race (which features two elephants with their trunks twined together), and his Newcastle war memorial, with its rearing horse. It seems very likely that he shared the Weavers' sympathies.
Photographs, captions and text by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. [Click on the images for larger pictures.]
Bibliography
"Charles Leonard Hartwell." Tate Collections. Web. 16 July 2011.
"Hartwell, Charles Leonard." LARA (London Atelier of Representational Art). Web. 16 July 2011.
Kean, Helen. "Weaver, Gertrude Baillie." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online ed. Web 16 July 2011.
"Prize for the Best Work of Sculpture...". Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951. Web. 16 July 2011.
Last modified 16 July 2011