William Wyon RA by Sir Mark Jones, FRSE

William Wyon has been largely absent from the history of British sculpture in the nineteenth century. But his training at the Royal Academy Schools and later his active membership of the Academy, the commissions that came his way, his collaborations with contemporary artists and the treatment of his work in the media, all suggest a close relationship between his work and that of his sculptor colleagues. It is this relationship which I hope to explore in my lecture.

Mark Jones was curator of medals at the British Museum (1974-1990). There he worked on a catalogue of the collection of French medals, co-founded the British Art Medal Society and edited The Medal. His exhibitions at the British Museum included The Art of the Medal and Fake: the Art of Deception.

After a brief spell as Keeper of Coins and Medals in the BM, he became Director of the National Museums of Scotland and then of the V&A. Most recently he was interim director of the British Museum, which gave him the opportunity to finish his long-deferred book on William Wyon.