Edward VII Jewish Memorial Drinking Fountain 1911
William Silver Frith (1850–1924)
William Silver Frith was born in Leicester, England on 30 April 1850. He studied at Lambeth School of Art from 1869 to 1872, and at the Royal Academy Schools in London from 1872. In c.1879 he returned to Lambeth School of Art, where he helped to relocate the modelling class to its extension at the South London Technical School of Art. He initially worked as assistant to Jules Dalou (1838-1902) and within a few months succeeded him as tutor of modelling. Among Frith's students were Frederick William Pomeroy, George Frampton, William Goscombe John and Henry Poole, some of whom went on to work at the local pottery company, Doulton's of Lambeth. Frith himself contributed to Doulton's chief entry in the Glasgow International Exhibition of 1888, the Victoria Fountain.
Frith exhibited at the Royal Academy in London on six occasions between 1884 and 1902. He was elected a member of the Art Workers Guild in 1886; a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors (RBS) in 1904; and a Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors (FRBS) in 1923. He was also a member of the Chelsea Arts Club. In 1902 he made a bust of Selwyn Image, Master of the Art Workers Guild.
Frith's address was given as 336 Clapham Road, Lambeth, London in 1881; 134 Milkwood Road, Herne Hill, London in 1884 and 1887; 1 Ashurst Street Battersea London in 1891; 2 Bowerdean Street, Fulham, London in 1901; 51 Rushholme Road, Putney, Surrey [now London] in 1911 and 1924. From 1888 to 1924 Frith's studio was located at Elgin Studio, Trafalgar Square, London. He died in London on 15 August 1924 and was buried at Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium in London.
Text source: Arts + Architecture Profiles from Art History Research net (AHRnet) https://www.arthistoryresearch.net/
