Albert Toft (3 June 1862, Handsworth, Birmingham, the son of Charles Toft (1832–1909) and Rosanna Reeves - 18 December 1949 Worthing, Sussex) was an English sculptor. His brother was the landscape artist Joseph Alfonso Toft.
Toft trained in Wedgwood's pottery and in 1881 won a scholarship to study sculpture at the South Kensington Schools under Professor Edouard Lanteri. He received silver medals in his second and third years. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography describes Toft as one of the major figures of "New Sculpture" following on from William Hamo Thornycroft and George Frampton. Toft described his work as 'Idealist' but he also said of himself that "to become an idealist you must necessarily first be a realist."
From 1885 onwards Toft exhibited at the Royal Academy and some of his most notable works exhibited at the Royal Academy included 'Fate-Led' (1890), 'The Sere and Yellow Leaf' (1892), 'Spring' (1897), 'The Spirit of Contemplation' (1901) and 'The Metal Pourer' (1915). In 1915 his sculpture 'The Bather' was purchased using the Royal Academy's Chantrey Fund. In 1900 Toft received a bronze medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris.
In 1891 Toft was elected to the Art Workers Guild and in 1938 he was elected a fellow to the Royal Society of British Sculptors.
Read more about Albert Toft: War Memorials, Other Works, Gallery of Sculptures By Albert Toft
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