Mr. J. Birnie Philips

Compare sculptors J. Birnie Philip and Armstead.

Rossetti, William M. "Mr. J. Birnie Philip." Academy (March 13, 1875): 149. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.

This circumspect critique of Philip compares him to fellow sculptor Armstead, with whom he worked on the sculpture honoring Albert in Hyde Park. Rossetti praises Philip for the achievement of "natural expression, or for general artistic spiritedness and success" in his work, but then states that Philip is not necessarily the better of the two sculptors working on the project.

Of the two, Philip's work is the more "lymphatic," displaying "less intuition, less energy, a less varied and less receptive mode of life." Nonetheless, says Rossetti, "we should have been justified in showing it to foreigners with no stinted amount of national self-complacency," a reference that contrasts Rossetti's typical appraisal of British sculpture as lagging behind that of other countries.