1840
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Head of Melpome is a 1840 by George Gammon Adams, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This is a small red wax medal head of Melpomene. It’s not a painting—it’s an impression stamped into hardened wax by George Gammon Adams around 1840. Medals often honor people or ideas. Adams used this one to show Melpomene, the muse of tragedy. The wax keeps a sharp, delicate imprint of her face. The roundel came to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1980 as part of a gift from the artist’s daughter. museum: Victoria and Albert Museum
This hardened red wax die impression of a medal portrays the head of Melpomene in profile, adorned with vine leaves and clusters of grapes. The work is signed by George Gammon Adams, a British portrait sculptor and medallist active in the 19th century. It was donated to the museum in 1980 by the artist’s daughter, I. D. Adams, as part of a larger collection of models and sculptures. The precise date of creation for this impression remains uncertain.
Read the full account in the museum source.
George Gammon Adams (21 April 1821 – 14 March 1898; sometimes spelled George Gamon Adams or George Gannon Adams) was an English portrait sculptor and medallist, noted for his statue of General Charles Napier in Trafalgar Square.
See the richer artist page
