John Gibson sculpture

I look at Jean’s blog “This too” from week
to week, and was interested to see her photos
of a lovely sculpture called “Delicatesse” by
John Gibson. (See her post for Friday 28 April).
A couple of years ago I did a bit of research
on another Gibson sculpture called “Hylas
surprised by Nymphs”, which I found on a saleroom
website, along with its provenance.
For many years this sculpture was in the main
hallway of the Liverpool Institute School for
Girls, aka Blackburne House, which was attended
by my mum and her sister.
My mum was very fond of this sculpture. When
she was writing a biography of one of her
schoolteachers, she was given a photo of the
hallway by another old pupil, which she included
in the biography. The schoolteacher, Gladys
Imlach, led a totally secret life as described
by Anthony Sampson in “The Scholar Gypsy”.
So here is a copy of the old photo, dated
November 1922, (which I've touched up), followed
by my photo, taken on a boiling hot day last May.
The school used to be the home of a Liverpool
magnate (and Lord Mayor), John Blackburne, and
is now a FE college for women.