The Great Exhibition, 1851: Boy and Butterfly by Thrupp

Photograph of a marble statue of a boy. The boy bends down with his right knee almost touching the ground and with his left hand resting on his left knee. He reaches down with his right hand to catch a butterfly on the ground. Drapery covers his left thigh. The sculpture by Frederick Thrupp (1812-95) was exhibited at the Great Exhibition.

This photograph is from Volume IV (RCIN 2800003) of ' Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, 1851: Reports by the Juries on the Subjects in the Thirty Classes into which the Exhibition was Divided'. The incredibly successful Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, commonly known as the Great Exhibition, ran from May to October 1851. At the exhibition's conclusion, over 100 copies of the four volume 'Reports by the Juries' were distributed to foreign governments and notable participants. The reports consist of the juries' comments and assessments of the works displayed in the exhibition. The idea and decision to illustrate the reports with photographs is attributed to Prince Albert (1819-61).