George Rennie (
1801 or
1802 –
22 March 1860) was a
Scottish sculptor and
politician.
Rennie was the son of
George Rennie, agriculturist, of Phantassie, Haddingtonshire, and nephew of
John Rennie, the
civil engineer.
In early life he studied sculpture at Rome, and exhibited statues and busts at the
Royal Academy from 1828 to 1837. He also exhibited three times at the
Suffolk Street Gallery during the same period. His most important works at the academy were:
A Gleaner and
Grecian Archer, 1828;
Cupid and Hymen and busts of
Thorwaldsen and John Rennie, 1831;
The Archer (which he afterwards presented to the
Athenaeum Club) and bust of
Wilkie, 1833;
The Minstrel, 1834; a group of four figures in marble, 1837.
His
marble statue Cupid Rekindling the Torch of Hymen is
currently in the
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, although in
2005 it was temporarily removed from display pending reorganisation of the museum's sculpture galleries.
With a view to improving the state of the arts in this country, he turned his attention to politics.
In 1836 he suggested to Sir
William Ewart the formation of the parliamentary committee which led to the establishment of the schools of design at
Somerset House, and assisted the efforts of
Joseph Hume to obtain for the public freedom of access to all monuments and works of art in public buildings and museums.
From 1841 to 1847 he was
Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for
Ipswich, retiring before the 1847 general election in favour of
Hugh Adair.
In
1842 he proposed the "New Edinburgh" scheme for establishing a Scottish settlement in
New Zealand (the city is now called
Dunedin).
On 15 December 1847 he was appointed to the governorship of the
Falkland Islands, and raised that small colony from an abject condition to one of as great prosperity as its limited resources allowed; while he offered a firm resistance to the extravagant claims of the
United States, without provoking a rupture. He returned to England in 1855. He died in London on 22 March 1860.