Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th Edition

BROCK, THOMAS

(1847- ), English sculptor, was the chief pupil of Foley, and later became influenced by the new romantic movement. His group "The Moment of Peril" was followed by "The Genius of Poetry," "Eve," and other ideal works that mark his development. His busts, such as those of Lord Leighton and Queen Victoria; his statues, such as "Sir Richard Owen" and "Dr Philpott, bishop of Worcester"; his sepulchral monuments, such as that to Lord Leighton in St Paul's cathedral, a work of singular significance, refinement and beauty; and his memorial statues of Queen Victoria, at Hove and elsewhere, are examples of his power as a portraitist, sympathetic in feeling, sound and restrained in execution, and dignified and decorative in arrangement. The colossal equestrian statue of "Edward the Black Prince" was set up in the City Square in Leeds in 1901, the year in which the sculptor was awarded the commission to execute the vast Imperial Memorial to Queen Victoria in front of Buckingham Palace. Brock was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1883 and full member in 1891.