Record

Entry Type	Person
Surname	Flaxman
Forenames	John
Epithet	sculptor, designer, artist
Dates	1755-1826
Gender Identity	Male
History	By 1775 he had begun to design decorative figures for the Wedgwood pottery family, arguably the most successful and skilful employed by them; his principal ambition lay in the area of monumental sculpture, for which he received commissions from 1781 onwards; he move to Italy with his wife from 1787-1794, during which time he transformed himself from a minor British sculptor into a major international figure with proven ability in monumental and free-standing sculpture and of graphic design in illustrated books; on his return to England he continued to produce many highly regarded memorial monuments; he was appointed the first professor of sculpture by the Royal Academy; in the later years of his life, however, he was somewhat eclipsed by younger sculptors such as Chantrey and Rossi; after his death, his reputation was kept alive with the opening of the Flaxman Gallery in University College, London, in 1851.
Relationships	Second son of three children of minor sculptor John Flaxman; he married Anne Denham at St Ann's, Soho, on 6 June 1781
Key Events	Born in York 6 July 1755; died in London, 7 Dec 1826
Source	Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online
Authorised Form of Name	Flaxman; John (1755-1826); sculptor, designer, artist

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