Doctor Samuel Johnson was one of the most important writers of the eighteenth century. In 1755 he published the book he is most famous for, ‘The Dictionary of the English Language’. The seated statue of Johnson is raised on a moulded pedestal with three relief panels. Johnson is depicted wearing academic robes, his chin resting on his hand, and appears deep in thought. He sits upon a Greek Revival chair with books stacked underneath it. The reliefs illustrate scenes from Johnson’s life.

Provenance: gift from Dr John Thomas Law, Chancellor of the Diocese of Lichfield

Object description
Type: Sculpture
Location: Market Square, Lichfield, Staffordshire, England
Material: Ashlar
Artist: Richard Cockle Lucas (1800–1883)
Date: 1838

Image Details
Date: 29 March 2024
Camera body: Nikon D50
Lens: Nikkor AF-S DX 18-55mm ƒ3.5-5.6G ED
Focal Length: 55mm
Aperture: ƒ/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/500s
ISO: 500
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International