Thomas Woolner

Born in Hadleigh, Suffolk, in 1825, Thomas Woolner trained as a sculptor in London and became the only sculptor among the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Alongside his sculpture, he also wrote poetry, and his early career connected him with major Victorian artists and writers.

In 1852 he traveled to Australia, hoping the gold rush might offer a better future, but he eventually returned to England. Back in Britain he built a successful career producing portrait busts, reliefs, and large public monuments, with commissions tied to prominent cultural and political figures of the period.

Woolner was later elected to the Royal Academy and went on to serve as its professor of sculpture. He died in London in 1892, remembered as a distinctive Victorian artist whose work joined literary feeling with sculptural craft.