Standing precariously on a rock and beckoning others towards her, 'Folly' represents one of Ford's most important 'ideal' sculptures. The concept of adolescence and the passing of childhood, seen within this carefree pose, represented a potent source of inspiration for the New Sculptors.

This object was produced around 1896 as a small replica statuette of the highly praised 1886 statue, 'Folly', whose significance can be gauged by her appearance (accompanied by other ideal works including ‘Echo’) in the background of Arthur Hacker's portrait of Ford painted in 1894. 

Ford and his associates were particularly indebted to the dealer Arthur Leslie Collie who was instrumental in promoting smallscale sculpture, and this statuette illustrates Ford's commitment to the concept of small replicas.

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Standing precariously on a rock and beckoning others towards her, 'Folly' represents one of Ford's most important 'ideal' sculptures. The concept of adolescence and the passing of childhood, seen within this carefree pose, represented a potent source of inspiration for the New Sculptors. This object was produced around 1896 as a small replica statuette of the highly praised 1886 statue, 'Folly', whose significance can be gauged by her appearance (accompanied by other ideal works including ‘Echo’) in the background of Arthur Hacker's portrait of Ford painted in 1894. Ford and his associates were particularly indebted to the dealer Arthur Leslie Collie who was instrumental in promoting smallscale sculpture, and this statuette illustrates Ford's commitment to the concept of small replicas.

Folly

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