Alfred Drury



(Edward) Alfred Briscoe Drury (11 November 1856 – 24 December 1944) was an English architectural sculptor and figure in the New Sculpture movement. Drury is best represented at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where he contributed the figure of Prince Albert immediately above the main entrance, nine lunettes with Drury's characteristic allegorical girls each bearing a portion of the museum's motto, allegorical figures of Inspiration and Knowledge, and Queen Victoria above it all, carrying a staff and flanked by a knight and angel. (The spandrel figures of Truth and Beauty are by George Frampton.)

Biography
He was born in Islington, London on 11 November 1856. Drury studied under the Frenchmen Édouard Lantéri and Jules Dalou, with whom he worked between 1881 and 1885, and then became assistant to Joseph Boehm.

He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1900 and a full Academician in 1913. He was also member of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers.

He died on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1944.

Works
Rhodes University (Grahamstown) War Memorial to the 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 conflicts, depicting a medieval knight in armour and chain mail, with gauntletted hands resting on the hilt of his sword.
 * four allegorical pairs on the Old War Office, Whitehall, 1905, representing Sorrow and Joy, Horror and Dignity of War, Truth and Justice, and Victory and Fame.
 * four colossal bronzes on the downstream side of the Vauxhall Bridge representing Education, Fine Art, Science, and Local Government
 * a figure of Joshua Reynolds for the forecourt of Burlington House, home of the Royal Academy
 * Gatepost figures representing West Africa, Canada and South Africa as part of Thomas Brock's Victoria Memorial, London
 * a pair of figures and other sculptural work for the London Troops War Memorial at the Royal Exchange, London designed by Sir Aston Webb
 * a statue of Alexander McLeod in front of the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society building in Powys Street, Woolwich

External sources

 * online biography
 * Keystone to New Buildings Royal London Friendly Society
 * UK National Inventory of War Memorials