Adrian JonesMVO was an English sculptor and painter who specialized in animals, particularly horses. He created the sculpture Peace descending on the Quadriga of War, on top of the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner in London. Before becoming a full-time artist he was an army veterinary surgeon.
Life
Adrian Jones was born in Ludlow, Shropshire, and studied at the Royal Veterinary College, qualifying as a veterinary surgeon in 1866. He enrolled in the Army as a veterinary officer in the Royal Horse Artillery the following year and served from 1867 to 1890. During this time he saw service in the Abyssinian Expedition of 1868 before joining the 3rd Hussars in 1869. From 1871 to 1881 he served with the Queen's Bays in Ireland and was then attached to the 7th Hussars and fought with them in the Anglo-Transvaal war in 1881. In South Africa he was attached to the Inniskilling Dragoons. In 1884 Jones served in Egypt where he selected camels for the Nile Expedition and finally joined the 2nd Life Guards, retiring in 1890 with the rank of captain. He was already active as an artist by this time, having exhibited at the Royal Academy as early as 1884, giving his address as "The Studio, Chelsea". On retirement from the Army he set himself up as an artist. His training as a veterinary surgeon gave him a deep knowledge of equine anatomy which he used in his work to great effect.
''Peace descending on the Quadriga of War''
Jones' best-known work is probably the sculpture Peace descending on the Quadriga of War, which surmounts the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner, London. This replaced an equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington which is now at Aldershot. It was created as a memorial for Edward VII, and was placed on public view in 1912. File WORK 20/52 held at the National Archives gives some further background information on the "Quadriga". The period covered by the correspondence in this file opens in August 1890. We learn from these papers that in December 1907 Jones had the model ready for inspection and this was finally accepted in May 1908. There are several letters in the file from both Adrian Jones and A.B. Burton who cast the statue at his Thames Ditton Foundry. The casting was completed by November 1911 and the complex matter of hoisting the "Quadriga" into position took place in January 1912. In April 1912 the King and Queen drove through the arch and were presented to both Jones and Burton. In October 1913 the "Quadriga" was formally placed in the charge of Office of Works. At the back of the file are some press cuttings, and other miscellaneous papers. Another file held at the National Archives, WORK 20/122 covers the period November 1913 to March 1939 and in the main covers the addition of a tablet noting that the "Quadriga" was a gift of Lord Michelham. This was affixed in 1916. It is recorded that the young boy in Jones' composition for the "Quadriga" who is leading the four horses as they are descended upon by the Angel of Peace was in fact based on Lord Michelham's son. Letters dated February and March 1939 cover the siting of an Air Raid siren on the roof of the Wellington Arch.
This statue stands in Whitehall and is another of Jones' magnificent representations of a horse. File WORK 20/58 held in the National Archives gives some background information on this statue covering the period January 1906 to July 1907. The statue was cast by A.B. Burton at his Thames Ditton Foundry and was unveiled on 15 June 1907.
This statue is located in Exeter, Devon and dates to 1905. The image above is shown courtesy of its author Peter Clarkson
Other works
Death and Memorial
Jones died of influenza and bronchitis at his Chelsea home in January 1938 aged 92 and was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium. A memorial plaque to Adrian Jones is to be found at St. Laurence's Church in Ludlow next to that remembering another famous Ludlow-linked man, the poet A. E. Housman.
Gallery of images
Obituary
Here is his obituary, published in The Times on 25 January 1938.
Work as a painter
Whilst so well known as a sculptor, Jones was an accomplished painter.
