Richard Arthur Ledward

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Richard Arthur Ledward (1857–1890) was an English sculptor and teacher of pottery modelling.

Life
Ledward was born in Burslem, Staffordshire, in 1857. He was the son of Richard Perry Ledward of the Burslem firm Pinder, Bourne & Co. He worked as a modeller for that firm and studied at the Burslem School of Art. After winning a national scholarship, he continued his studies at the South Kensington School of Art, where he earned a gold medal for life modelling and was appointed a master of modelling.

He later taught modelling at Westminster School of Art and Blackheath School of Art. Ledward exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1882 onward, with his work “A Young Mother” receiving praise. He also made several busts of notable people, including Henry Broadhurst, William Ewart Gladstone, and Philip Cunliffe-Owen.

Ledward lived in Chelsea, London, and died of rheumatism on 28 October 1890. He was buried at St Mary’s, Perivale, near Ealing.

Family
In 1883 he married Mary Jane Wood, sister of Ambrose Wood of Hanley. Their children included the sculptor Gilbert Ledward; Hilda, who married the sculptor Newbury Abbot Trent; and Enid, who married the painter Percy Hague Jowett.