Gilbert, Burton (McKechnie Section 1)

Recorded by Jackson (Dictionary), who gives his surname only. She had seen a cut and bronzed profile, possibly full-length, of a boy, and tells us that Gilbert worked in Sheffield. Leicester has been suggested as another centre. Mrs Peggy Hickman owns the illustrated silhouette by this artist, which is signed 'B. Gilbert'. Too little of Gilbert's work has been seen for an accurate dating of his career to be possible; the illustrated full-length profile of a girl dates apparently from the early 1840s. Gilbert was probably an itinerant artist. Although his work is of little merit, its rarity is in itself of interest to a collector who is especially concerned with the work of the lesser known artists.

Bust-length work may also have been executed by Gilbert, whose cut and bronzed work appears most like that of Merryweather (q.v.). His cutting shows scant attention to detail. For instance, on the illustrated example, the girl's hand is poorly shaped; also, one of her shoes is cut with the fashionable squared-off toe, whereas the other is shown well pointed. The hair outside the cut profile is shown by rough brushwork, and the bronzing is both slight and sparingly applied. The girl's standing figure is shown on a narrow base of shadow thrown from one foot.

Ill. 420