Baily, Edward Hodges

Baily, Edward Hodges (b Bristol, 10 Mar. 1788; d London, 22 May 1867).
English sculptor. The son of a carver of ships' figureheads, he studied with Flaxman, becoming his favourite pupil, and at the Royal Academy. His output included a good deal of public sculpture; his two most conspicuous works are also his most inaccessible—the statues at the top of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square (1843) and the almost equally tall Grey's Monument in Newcastle upon Tyne (1837). He also produced numerous portrait busts, including many of fellow artists (examples are in the National Portrait Gallery, London), as well as church monuments and ideal figures, notably Eve at the Fountain (1822, City AG, Bristol), which was one of the most acclaimed British sculptures of the 19th century. Although he had a busy and successful career, he was extravagant and died bankrupt.