 thumb|memorial to sit thomas hardy by william behnes in chapel at greenwich's old royal naval college. thumb|right|an engraving of john jones's memorial in st. paul's cathedral, carved by william behnes  william behnes (1795 â 3 january 1864) was an english sculptor of the early 19th century.mapping the practice and profession of sculpture in britain and ireland 1851â1951 ==life== born in london, behnes was the son of a hanoverian piano-maker and his english wife. his brother was henry behnes, also a sculptor, albeit an inferior one. the family moved to ireland and their early life was spent in dublin. there he studied art at the dublin academy. after the family returned to london, behnes continued his artistic training, studying at the royal academy school of art from 1813, under the tutorship of peter francis chenu.http://www.npg.org.uk/research/programmes/british-bronze-founders-and-plaster-figure-makers-1800-1980-1/british-bronze-founders-and-plaster-figure-makers-1800-1980-c.php as a painter, he exhibited at the royal academy in 1815 and won several medals during the ensuing years. in 1819 he won a society of arts gold medal for inventing an instrument to assist sculpture work, having by this time begun to practice successfully as a sculptor. in 1837 behnes was appointed 'sculptor in ordinary' to queen victoria. his pupils included noted sculptors george frederic watts, thomas woolner and henry weekes, and naturalist benjamin waterhouse hawkins. despite huge success, being declared "superior to chantrey" in bust portraiture, he was could not manage is finances and was declared bankrupt in 1861. his final work, sir henry havelock (1861) has the unusual claim to fame of being the first known statue based purely upon a photograph of his subject. it is likely that he was an alcoholic and also a gambler, and this was worsened by bankruptcy. he moved to "miserable lodgings" in charlotte street. he was found lying unconscious in a gutter, with only three pence in his pocket, on new years day 1864 and died on 3 january in middlesex hospital. he was buried in an unmarked grave in kensal green cemetery. [[george cruikshank
1795_births 1864_deaths Burials_at_Kensal_Green_Cemetery English_people_of_German_descent English_sculptors