Dickens and Little Nell
Dickens and Little Nell is a bronze sculpture by Francis Edwin Elwell located in Clark Park in the Spruce Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The group depicts British author Charles Dickens and Nell Trent, a character from his 1840–41 novel The Old Curiosity Shop. It was one of the most celebrated American sculptural works of the late 19th century. The sculpture is also one of two known statues of Dickens, who said he did not want such representations.
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Identification | |
| Title | Dickens and Little Nell |
| Original title | Dickens y la pequeña Nell |
| Type | Bronze sculpture / portrait statue / sculptural monument |
Creator | |
| Sculptor base | New York City |
| Artist | F. Edwin Elwell |
Physical characteristics | |
| Material | Bronze |
| Pedestal dimensions | 4 ft 8 in × 3 ft 4 in × 4 ft 2 in (1.4 m × 1 m × 1.3 m) |
| Pedestal features | Three steps and a die block |
| Pedestal installation date | 1902 |
| Pedestal maker | W. R. Martin of Philadelphia |
| Permanent pedestal material | Woodstock granite |
Iconography and meaning | |
| Subject | Charles Dickens and Little Nell |
| Depicted figures | Charles Dickens and Nell Trent |
| Charles Dickens | 19th-century British author |
| Little Nell | A character from Dickens's 1840–41 novel The Old Curiosity Shop |
Discovery and provenance | |
| Reason for Philadelphia interest | Dickens visited Philadelphia in 1842 and 1867 and had a large following there |
| Negotiations to purchase | Opened in 1896 by the Fairmount Park Art Association (now the Association for Public Art) |
| Stored in Philadelphia | Moved to a Philadelphia warehouse after the Chicago exhibition |
| Completed after withdrawal | Yes |
| Sent to Chicago | After the London exhibition, for the World's Columbian Exposition |
| Commissioned by | Stilson Hutchins, founder of The Washington Post |
| Reason it did not sell in London | Dickens's will forbade any "monument, memorial or testimonial" to him |
| Exhibited in London | 1892, in hopes of finding a buyer |
| Commission date | 1890 |
| Original intended location | London |
| Commission status | Hutchins later withdrew from the commission; Elwell completed the work |
Materials | |
| Foundry | Bureau Brothers Foundry |
Location and ownership | |
| Possible reason for placement | The park's namesake, financier Clarence H. Clark, was a member of the FPAA artworks committee |
| Relocation requests | By 1908, the association was receiving and rejecting requests to move it to a more prominent place in the city |
| Foundry location | Philadelphia |
| Initial pedestal | Temporary pedestal |
| Installation date | 1901 |
| Current location | Clark Park, near the intersection of South 43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Purchase price | $7,500 |
| Purchase date | 1900 |
| Purchased by | Fairmount Park Art Association |
Significance | |
| Awards in Chicago | Two gold medals at the World's Columbian Exposition |
| Award | Gold medal from the Art Club of Philadelphia |
| Award year | 1891 |
| Britannica mention | 1911: described in Encyclopædia Britannica as one of the city's notable works of art |
| Lorado Taft commentary | In The History of American Sculpture (1903), Taft described it as a portrait statue with rare emotional appeal, said its dramatic power comes from the secondary figure Little Nell, and called Little Nell charming in conception |
| World's Columbian Exposition year | 1893 |
| New York Times description | It was described as attracting more popular interest than probably any other sculptural memorial to Charles Dickens at the World's Fair |
History and restoration | |
| Vandalized | November 1989 |
| Restoration | Restored after vandalism |