1986: 'Alfred Gilbert: Sculptor of Eros', Royal Academy.
1978-1979: 'Victorian high Renaissance: George Frederick Watts (1817-1904); Frederic Leighton (1830-1896); Albert Moore (1841-1893); Alfred Gilbert (1854-1934)', City Art Gallery, Manchester, UK; Minneapolis Institute of Arts; The Brooklyn Museum.
1909: Exhibition of Fair Women. International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, London, ref. no. 302.

Robert Bowman, Sir Alfred Gilbert and the New Sculpture (London: The Fine Art Society, 2008).
Robert Bowman, Craft and Creation (London: Robert Bowman Gallery, 2005), pp. 68-69.
Anon, Gibson to Gilbert: British Sculpture 1840-1914, Exh. cat. (London: The Fine Art Society, 1992), No. 33.
Richard Dorment, Alfred Gilbert: Sculptor and Goldsmith, Exh. cat. (London: Royal Academy, 1986), Nos. 98.

Richard Dorment, Alfred Gilbert (London: Yale University Press, 1985), pp. 213-5.

Anon, Victorian High Renaissance: George Frederick Watts 1817-1904; Frederick Leighton 1830-1896; Albert Moore 1841-1893; Alfred Gilbert 1854-1934 (Minneapolis: Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1978).

Anon, A Catalogue of the Pictures, Drawings, Prints and Sculptures in the Exhibition of Fair Women arranged by the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (London: Ballantyne & Co Limited, 1909), p. 47.

Alfred Gilbert (1854–1934) was probably the greatest and best known sculptor in pre-20th century British art. Work such as The Shaftesbury Memorial (Eros) located at the southeastern side of Piccadilly Circus, The Alexandra Memorial opposite St James Palace, and The Clarence Tomb at St George’s Chapel, Windsor are just a few of his public monuments.

Gilbert was just nineteen years old when he joined the Royal Academy of Arts, where he was exposed to the influence of Frederic Leighton (1830-1896), and Aimés Jules Dalou (1838-1902)). In 1875 Gilbert moved to Paris, after which he turned his attentions to Rome. This contact with European arts was hugely influential, and the impact of the Italian Renaissance would continue as a thread throughout his career, with inspiration from Donatello's David (c. 1440s) and Cellini's Perseus with the Head of a Medusa (1545-1554) evident in Gilbert's work.

Known as The Miraculous Wedding the present statuette depicts Saint Catherine and thus refers to both St Catherine of Alexandria, the 4th century Egyptian royal who converted to Christianity, and St Catherine of Siena, the 14th century Italian member of the Dominican Order. Both experienced visions in which they mystically wed the Christ child. The Miraculous Wedding makes reference to each saint through the heavy veils which could variously be interpreted as those of the Egyptian royal or of the Dominican nun, who were both frequently represented in the artistic tradition – imagery with which Gilbert would was well acquainted.

It was conceived by Gilbert in his working of figures of saints to surround his masterpiece, The tomb of the Duke of Clarence (1892-1928), which dominates the Albert Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle. Most notably, perhaps, the present statuette stands on a base of swirling clouds and dragon scales which compares directly to the base of St George, the most celebrated saint from the series.

Additional casts  of The Miraculous Wedding are in the Birmingham Art Gallery and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and one sold at Sotheby’s, London, 20 November 1997, lot 131.

Gilbert’s work is held in major public collections around the world including in the Tate Gallery, London; The Victorian & Albert Museum, London; The Metropolitan Museum, New York; Detroit Institute of Arts and The Musée d'Orsay, Paris.