Donatello laughing boy by Monsignor Hawes

In 1898 Monsignor John Hawes was an architectural student in London. Even at this early stage in his career, Hawes saw architecture not so much as a profession but as an art. Hawes is quoted as saying “I threw myself into the study of architecture with unbounded enthusiasm. Was it not the very essence and substance of those old cathedrals, abbeys and churches that I loved? I soon decided that it was an Art and the highest of all the arts, and not a profession”. At the time, Hawes also turned his hand to other forms of art, creating this bust of Donattello’s laughing boy, while studying architecture in London. He must have treasured the creation, having brought it all the way from London to Australia.