GILBERT, SIR ALFRED British sculptor and goldsmith, born in London, was the son of Alfred Gilbert, mu sician. He received his education mainly in Paris (Ecole des Beaux Arts, under Cavelier), and studied in Rome and Florence where the significance of the Renaissance made a lasting impression upon him and his art. He also worked in the studio of Sir J. Edgar Boehm, R.A. His first work of importance was the charming group of the "Mother and Child," then "The Kiss of Victory," followed by "Perseus Arming" (1883) , produced directly under the influence of the Florentine masterpieces he had studied. Its success was great, and Lord Leighton forthwith commissioned "Icarus," which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1884, along with a remarkable "Study of a Head," and was received with general applause. Then followed "The Enchanted Chair," which along with many other works, deemed by the artist incom plete or unworthy of his powers, was ultimately broken by the sculptor's own hand. The next year Gilbert was occupied with the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, known as "Eros," in Picca dilly, London, a beautiful and original work, shorn of some of the intended effect through restrictions put upon the artist. In 1888 was produced the statue of H. M. Queen Victoria, set up at Win chester, in its main design and in the details of its ornamentation the most remarkable work of its kind produced in Great Britain, and perhaps, it may be added, in any other country in modern times. Other statues of great beauty, at once novel in treatment and fine in design, are those set up to Lord Reay in Bombay, and John Howard at Bedford (1898), the highly original pedestal of which did much to direct into a better channel what are apt to be the eccentricities of what is called the "New Art" school. The sculptor rose to the full height of his powers in his "Memorial to the Duke of Clarence," at Windsor, proving his fast development of fancy. His sense of decoration was paramount in all he did and although in addition to the work already cited he produced busts of extraordinary excellence of Cyril Flower, John R. Clay ton (since broken up by the artist—the fate of much of his ad mirable work), G. F. Watts, Sir Henry Tate, Sir George Bird wood, Sir Richard Owen, Sir George Grove and various others, it is on his goldsmithery that the reputation of the artist will rest; on his mayoral chain for Preston, the epergne for Queen Victoria, the figurines of "Victory" (a statuette designed for the orb in the hand of the Winchester statue), "St. Michael" and "St. George," as well as smaller objects such as seals, keys and the like. Gil bert was elected associate of the Royal Academy in 1887, full member in 1892 (resigned 1909; resumed 1932), and professor of sculpture in 1900 (resigned 1909). In 1889 he won the Grand Prix at the Paris International Exhibition. He received the M.V.O. in 1897, and was knighted in 1932. His last triumph was the Queen Alexandra Memorial opposite St. James Palace, not wholly com pleted, as regards design, in See Joseph Hatton, The Life and Work of Albert Gilbert, R.A., M.V.O., D.C.L,., (Art Journal Office, 1903), and Isabel McAllister, Alfred Gilbert (A. & C. Black, 1929) . (M. H. S.)