Though deservedly eminent in his style, and certainly one of the best eculptora of his time, Chnutrey cannot be reckoued among great sculptors : his busts display no extraordinary powers of couccptiou or of modelling, and the best of his statues are but simple draped figures in repose, well-proportioned, and with much characteristic expression; but they are not superior to similar works by many sculptors of less renown. In the treatment of his portraits however he always disposed the unpicturesque costume of the present day with the greatest judg ment and with the least possible injury to the proportions of the human figure ; he never loft them stiff or stony, as they are on many of the statues in St. Paul's Cathedral, executed by some of Chantrey'a contemporaries and immediate predecessors.
Chantrey had no children or very near relations, and he left the reversion of a portion of his property, at the death or second marriage of his wife, at the disposal, under certain restrictions, of the president and council of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, for the promo tion of British Fine Art in painting and sculpture, including en annuity of 300/. for the president and 501. for the secretary, payable on the bat of January in every year. The interest of the residue is to be laid out in the purchase of works of Flue Art of the highest merit in painting and sculpture that can be obtained, either already executed or which may hereafter be executed by artists of any nation, provided such artists shall have actually resided in Great Britain during the executing and completing of such works; it being his express direction that no work of art shall be purchased unless it shall have been executed within the shores of Great Britain : and further, that in making such purchases, the works of the highest merit shall be chosen, solely with regard to their intrinsic merit, and a liberal price be paid, wholly at the discretion of the president and counoil of the Royal Academy. The president and council however will not he obliged to lay out annually the whole or any part of the annual sum at their disposal, which may be allowed to accumulate for not more than five years. All purchases must be bone fide purchases of finished works. The will expressly provides against commissioning any artist to execute works; and all purchases must be publicly exhibited for at least one mouth at the annual exhibition of the Royal Academy or elsewhere.
All these purchases are to be collected for the purpose of forming and establishing a " Public National Collection of British Fine Art in Painting and Sculpture," executed within the shores of Great Britain.
The will provides also against any expeuditure of these funds in the erection of n building to contain permanently the works thus pur chased; it having been Chentry's expectation that such building would be provided by the nation free of all charge upon his estate. Tho property devoted by Sir Francis Chantrey to this purpose is his residuary personal estate, over and above the property bequeathed to his wife, and all legacies; but ho expresses a wish that at the docettae of his wife all the propertybequeathed to her should be by her devoted to the same purpose. Lady Chantrey however, so long as she remains a widow, has a life-Interest in this residuary personal estate: its amount is not publicly known, but it is said to be about 2500/. per annum; it is vested in five trustees, Including the president and treasurer of the Royal Academy. Chantrey left to his friend and priu cipal assistant Allan Cunningham 2000/., end, in a codicil, a life-annuity of 1001, and, in case of his death, to his widow. Ho left also to his assistant Henry Weaken, 10004; provided in both cases that they continued in their offices as assistants, until the completion of his unfinished works, or such as it was necessary to finish. Allan Cunning ham however did not survive Chantrey an entire year : Chantrey died on the 25th of November 1841; Cunningham died on the etli of November ]842.
Chantrey was buried in a vault constructed by himself iu tho church of his native place, Norton in Derbyshire, and he bequeathed 2001. per annum to the clergyman of the place, so long as his tomb shall last, to instruct ton poor boys, and to pay annually 10/. to five poor Men, and to five poor widows or unmarried women, selected by the clergyman, and being of the parish of Norton ; the residue to be reserved by tho clergyman for his own ueo in consideration of his trouble.
Lady Chantrey presented the original models of the entire series of Sir Francis Chantrey's busts, the greater part of his monumental figures, and his studies from the antique, to Oxford University, "on condition that a permanent place be assigned to them in the Western Sculpture Gallery" of the Taylor Buildings, where they now are, and form a singularly interesting, and in some respects unique, series of the por traits of many of the most eminent among Chantrey's contemporaries.