Adrian Jones (sculptor)

Adrian Jones MVO (9 February 1845 – 24 January 1938) 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.

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.

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.

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