Background
His parents were Charles Toft (1832–1909) and Rosanna Reevesborn, and he was born in Handsworth, then in Staffordshire, and now a suburb of Birmingham.
His parents were Charles Toft (1832–1909) and Rosanna Reevesborn, and he was born in Handsworth, then in Staffordshire, and now a suburb of Birmingham.
Royal College of Artist
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography describes Toft as one of the major figures of "New Sculpture" following on from William Hamo Thornycroft and George Frampton. Toft described his work as "Idealist" but he also said of himself that "to become an idealist you must necessarily first be a realist."
From 1885 onwards Toft exhibited at the Royal Academy and some of his most notable works exhibited at the Royal Academy included "Fate-Led" (1890), "The Sere and Yellow Leaf" (1892), "Spring" (1897), "The Spirit of Contemplation" (1901) and "The Metal Pourer" (1915). In 1915 his sculpture "The Bather" was purchased using the Royal Academy"s Chantrey Fund.
In 1891 Toft was elected to the Art Workers Guild and in 1938 he was elected a fellow to the Royal Society of British Sculptors.