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Behnes, William
(b London, ?1795; d London, 3 Jan 1864). English sculptor of German origin. The son of a Hannoverian piano maker, he was brought up in Dublin, where he worked for his father and attended a public drawing school. He entered the Royal Academy Schools in London in 1813 and set up as a portrait painter shortly afterwards. He began sculpting around 1819 after taking lessons from P. F. Chenu (1760–after 1833) and soon obtained commissions for portrait busts. One of his early sitters was Princess Victoria (marble, 1829; Windsor Castle, Berks, Royal Col.), and in 1837 he was appointed Sculptor in Ordinary to the Queen, though he received no further royal commissions. He was the master of a busy studio, where he executed some fine church monuments, such as the one to Charlotte Botfield (marble, 1825; Norton, Northants, All Saints), a few ideal works, including Lady Godiva (plaster, c. 1844; Coventry, Council House), and many portrait statues and busts. Such works as the statue of Dr Babington (marble, 1837; London, St Paul’s Cathedral) and the busts of Robert Vernon (marble, London, Tate) and Richard Porson (marble, 1845; Eton, Berks, College Lib.) are among the finest examples of Victorian naturalistic portraiture.
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