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This unique sculpture is sure to add a touch of elegance to any room. Crafted in marble, this sculpture by Léon-Joseph Chavalliaud is a stunning representation of James Robert Creighton Mayor Carlisle. Make a statement with this beautiful work of art.

Subject bust of the known former Mayor of Carlisle James Robert Creighton.

Free standing 64cm high approximate. 

Such master fine craftsmanship, you can feel the amazing detail to the touch of his moustache, sideburns, forehead, chin and shape of his head incredible detail of the highest quality.

Very finely modelled and beautifully hand carved.

This is very heavy just over 100kg and needs 2 or 3 people to lift.

Made from solid white marble.

Circa late 19th century dated 1895 and signed by the known French sculptor Léon-Joseph Chavalliaud.

James Robert Creighton was twice mayor of Carlisle, who died in 1896. He was a council member for 22 years and initiated many improvements in the city, including the Market Hall, Tullie House Library and Museum, and a new road layout linking Lowther Street to Eden Bridge. 

His memorial was erected in 1898 in a triangular garden at street level, which occupied roughly the same area as today's sunken garden in the middle of Hardwicke Circus roundabout. While the latter was being constructed in 1970 the monument was removed, but was put back the next year in almost the same spot it had originally been.

Biography of James Robert Creighton
Born 1844 in Carlisle, Cumberland, England, United Kingdom, son of Robert Creighton and Sarah (Mandel) Creighton. Brother of Mandell Creighton PC DD LLD, Maribell Creighton, Mary Rayson Creighton and Mary Ellen Creighton. Husband of Caroline (Hope) Creighton — married 1872 in Carlisle, Cumberland, England, United Kingdom.[children unknown].Died 6 Sep 1896 at about age 52 in Carlisle, Cumberland, England, United Kingdom.

James Robert joined his father's carpentry business, then entered local politics, and later became a Director of the North British Railway, which incidentally began in the same year that James was born, 1844. Just two years after the 1891 Census, Caroline Creighton passed away on the 24th June, 1893, at Carlisle, Cumberland, England, United Kingdom, leaving 7 children from the ages of 4 - 20 for their father to care for. She was only 43 years of age. Probate was granted on the 10th January 1894. 

James Robert Creighton was a very civic minded man and was twice Mayor of Carlisle and Freeman of the city. On his deathbed he sent a message to his fellow citizens expressing his profound conviction that the greatness of England depended on its capacity for local self-government. Sadly, only 3 years after his wife, Caroline, James Robert Creighton died on the 6th September, 1896. Probate was granted on the 27th November 1896. Reference sources wiki tree & The Creighton Memorial, Hardwicke Circus.

Biography of Léon-Joseph Chavalliaud (French pronunciation: ​[leɔnʒozɛf ʃavaljo]; 29 January 1858 – 5 February 1919) was a French sculptor. He created several notable works in France and in England, where he lived for 15 years. Chavalliaud (sometimes spelt Chavaillaud) was born in Reims at No. 47 Chativesle St. and died at Boissy-sans-Avoir, Yvelines. He is buried in the North Cemetery in Rheims. He married Juliana Marie Rousseau.

He was an apprentice modeller in the workshop of a Mr Bulteau in Rheims, in Buirette St., very close to his place of birth. Later he entered the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts with a grant from the city council. There, he was a pupil of Alexandre Falguière, François Jouffroy and Louis-August RoubaudIn 1880, after working on the caryatids on the façade of the town hall patio in Rheims, he won the Prix de Roma with a sculpture called Mère Spartiate (Spartan Mother). The caryatids were partly destroyed in a fire in 1917. The remains of the statues now decorate the front of the Georget Hotel in Rheims.

In 1890, together with sculptor Deperthes and his son, Chavalliaud created a monument commemorating the Brittany-Anjou Federation of 1790, which was installed near Morbihan, Pontivy, in Brittany.[2] This sculpture was destroyed with dynamite by Breton separatists in 1938.

In the 1890s, he received a commission in England and remained in Britain for fifteen years, living in Brixton, London. During this time, he occasionally worked for (or with) Farmer & Brindley, an architectural sculpture company. He also exhibited at the National Gallery Summer Exhibition and the Walker Gallery in Liverpool.

Amongst the works he completed were eight statues of famous naturalists and explorers. Commissioned in 1896, they stand outside at the eight angles of the Palm House in Sefton Park, Liverpool. The marble statues are of the naturalists Carl Linnaeus, Charles Darwin, John Parkinson (a botanist), and André le Nôtre (a landscape gardener). The bronze statues are of the explorers and navigators Henry the Navigator, Gerardus Mercator, Christopher Columbus, and Captain James Cook.
Works exhibited at The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition
1893. Mon Pere; bust, bronze, also exhibited at The Second Exhibition of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (London), 1899. 1894. The Shrimper; statue in marble (a boy holding a shrimp net). 1894. Madame Veuve Pommery; portrait bust in marble.1895. A. Hubinet, Esq.; bust, bronze.
1896. A. Paroissien, Esq.; bust. 1904. Portrait; bust.

Condition report.  

Offered in fine used patina having some noticeable chips, stains and scuffs, scratches in places commensurate with usage & old age.

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