John Cheere

John Cheere (1709–1787) was an English sculptor, born in London. The younger brother of the sculptor Sir Henry Cheere, he was originally apprenticed as a haberdasher from 1725 to 1732.

He was born in Clapham the son of Sarah and John Cheere. Around 1722 he joined his brother Henry Cheere in the sculpture yard of John Nost and when Henry set up his own yard around 1730, John joined him as a partner. However, in 1739 John returned to Nost's yard which had been unused or underused since Nost's death in 1729. John bought the yard and a number of lead moulds for casting lead statues (which were normally painted in those days).^[1]

He is now mainly remembered as a creator of lead statues standing in the gardens of stately homes. Some of these (other than the casting) logically may be the artistic work of Nost rather than Cheere. These kinds of sculptures were popular for the summer houses of the 18th century’s aristocracy.^[2]

Some were reproductions of classicalRoman or Greek sculptures, but there was also a demand for statues depicting simple, pastoral themes.^[3]

Several of the sculptures from Queluz had not been on public view since 1967, and have been restored by Rupert Harris Conservation, in London, and returned to Portugal in May 2009.^[4] This restoration was in part made possible by the World Monuments Fund Britain.^[5]

The Medici lions at Stowe House have been attributed to Cheere.^[6]

He died in 1787 and was buried in Clapham with his first wife.^[7]

• Bust on grave of James Lawes on his grave in Halfway Church, Jamaica (c.1734)
• Gilded equestrian statue of William III in St James's Square, London (1739)
• Thirteen busts for Sir John Evelyn at Wotton House, Surrey (1742 to 1745)
• Eight plaster busts for Earl Fitzwalter at Moulsham Hall (1743)
• Several chimneypieces for Kirtlington Park (1748)
• Gilded lead statue of George II for Saint Helier, Jersey (1751)
• Numerosas figuras para las grutas y jardines de Stourhead (1751 a 1766).
• Figura de plomo de Marte en los jardines de Hampton Court (1752)
• Bustos de yeso para la casa de Henry Hoare en Clapham (1753)
• 98 estatuas de plomo encargadas por el ministro portugués en Londres para el palacio real de Queluz (1756) ^{[ 8 ]}
• Nueve figuras mitológicas para los jardines del castillo de Longford (1759 a 1768)
• Dos grandes dragones reales encargados por el obispo Trevor , obispo de Durham , para flanquear la entrada a Glynde Place (1759).
• Seis figuras de plomo y dos bustos de plomo para Bowood House (1762/3)
• Cuatro figuras para el Panteón de Stourhead (1766)
• Estatua de plomo de Shakespeare para el Ayuntamiento de Stratford-upon-Avon, encargada por Garrick (1769), pintada de blanco alrededor de 2015.
• Dos esfinges para el puente del Palacio de Blenheim (1773) (posteriormente trasladadas más cerca de la casa).
• Bustos de Shakespeare, Platón, Homero y Aristóteles para Josiah Wedgwood (1774)
• Cuatro esfinges para Somerset House (1778)

• Varios animales de plomo para Castle Hill, Devon, encargados por Lord Clinton (dnk)
• Dos figuras principales en Castle Howard (dnk)
• Figura de Shakespeare en el Teatro Drury Lane presentada por Samuel Whitbread (dnk)

Su primera esposa, Theodosia Maria, era de la parroquia de St. Georges, cerca de Hanover Square, Londres , pero falleció en mayo de 1767, poco después de la muerte de su padre y su único hijo. Luego se casó con Mary Wilmot de Clapham el 30 de junio de 1768. No tuvieron hijos. A la muerte de Cheere, dejó sus bienes a un sobrino, Charles Cheere. ^{[ 9 ]}

• 
  Jorge II (1751) en la Plaza Real, Saint Helier
• 
  Pastora (c. 1760-70), en los Jardines Botánicos de Kew, Londres.
• 
  La esfinge en Chiswick House
• 
  Verano en el Palacio Nacional de Queluz , Portugal
• 
  Baco y Ariadna en el Palacio Nacional de Queluz , Portugal
• 
  Venus y Adonis en el Palacio Nacional de Queluz , Portugal
• 
  Arlequín en Wrest Park , Inglaterra
• 
  Wyverns de Glynde Place
• 
  La esfinge en el Palacio de Blenheim

• John Cheere, The Henry Moore Foundation/Paul Mellon Centre.