Life
Born to a wealthy family in London, Wilton trained under Laurent Delvaux at Nivelles, and then Jean-Baptiste Pigalle in Paris. In 1747 he went to Italy, where he stayed for seven years, living first in Rome and then in Florence. Like many other artists of the day, he studied antiquities, and made numerous plaster casts and marble copies of classic works – many of these later formed the collection of Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond at House]] in west London. A marble bust of the physician and scholar Antonio Cocchi, carved by Wilton in 1755, his last year in Italy, is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Influenced by Wilton's study of antique busts, it was considered by Margaret Whinney to be one of Wilton's most distinguished works.
While in Florence, Wilton also made the acquaintance of Florentine painter Giovanni Battista Cipriani, who accompanied him on his return to England in August 1755.
Once back in London, Wilton was named co-director of Lennox's Richmond House gallery, and established a workshop.. He built up a considerable pracice, making busts and monuments, including the memorial to James Wolfe in Westminster Abbey. He made at least two marble busts of Oliver Cromwell, which he showed at the Society of Artists, in 1761 and 1761, basing the likeness on a cast of Cromwell's face. One marble version, and the terracotta model for it in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
In 1761, he was first commissioned to produce a statue of King George III. Similar commissions followed, including one in 1766 from New York City. This massive statue portrayed the king on horseback in Roman garb, and was cast in lead and gilded before being shipped to America and erected at Bowling Green, near the tip of Manhattan in August 1770. It did not last long, being torn down by patriots in July 1776.
Wilton's other works include many notable busts, monuments (e.g.: Stephen Hales' memorial in Westminster Abbey, London) and other carvings including fireplaces and tables; he also designed the coach used for George III's coronation.
In 1768, when Wilton was perhaps at the peak of his powers, he was elected a founder member of the Royal Academy. However, that year also saw him inherit his father's fortune and the new wealth diverted him away from sculpture to a life of dissolution, and in 1786 he was declared bankrupt. In 1796 he was appointed Keeper of the Royal Academy, a post he kept until his death in 1803. He was buried at Wanstead Church in east London.
By some accounts, the town of Wilton, New Hampshire is said to have been named after Sir Joseph in 1762.
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