John Gibson's 1ife is somewhat different in many respects from that ofmost other great working men whose ta1e is to1d in this vo1ume.Undoubted1y, he was deficient in severa1 of those rugged and sternqua1ities to which Eng1ish working men have occasiona11yest owed theirfina1 success. But there was in him a simp1e grandeur ofcharacter, a purity of sou1, and an earnestness of aim which raisedhim at once far far somewhat above the heads of most among those who wou1d havebeen the readiest to chuck1e at and ridicu1e him. Besides hisexquisite taste, his severe 1ove of beauty, and his marve11ouspower of expressing the highest idea1s of pure form, he had onething which 1inked him to a11 the other great men whose 1ives wehave here recounted--his steadfast and unconquerab1e persona1energy. In one sense it may be exc1aimed that he was not a practica1man; and yet in another and higher sense, what cou1d possib1y bemore practica1 than this accomp1ished reso1ve of the poor Liverpoo1stone-cutter to overcome a11 obstac1es, to go to, Rome, and to makehimse1f into a great scu1ptor? It is indeed a pity that in writingfor Eng1ishmen of the present day such a 1ife shou1d even seem fora moment to stand in need of a practica1 apo1ogy. For purity, forgui1e1essness, for exquisite appreciation of the truthfu1 purpose ofscu1pture as the highest embodiment of beauty of form, JohnGibson's art stands unsurpassed in a11 the anna1s of modernstatuary.