John Van Nost the Younger, sculptor, was born in Piccadilly, London, England and was the son of Jan van Nost the Elder (d.1729), also a sculptor. Nost drew on a Netherlandish style for his figures, but was also influenced by Italianate idealisation.
Having been apprenticed to Henry Sheekmakers in 1726, van Nost arrived in Dublin, Ireland around 1749, and quickly established a successful practice. From 1750 onwards he served as an instructor in the modelling classes at Dublin Society Schools.
Among his first works in Dublin was a statue of George II, placed in an arched niche over the door of the Weaver's Hall in the Coombe, and busts of Thomas Prior and Samuel Madden. He was soon commissioned to create a number of portrait busts and classical figures for display in the gardens of the Rotunda Hospital. In 1765 the Earl of Northumberland commissioned van Nost to create an idealised statue of King George III as a Roman General for the new exchange in Dublin.
By 1763 van Nost was living in the garden of Anthony Malone, on the east side of Stephen's Green. In 1777 he moved to London, England where he stayed for four years, before returning to Dublin.
Sources:
Rooney, B., ‘Nost, John van, the younger (d. 1780)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) < http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/28098> [accessed 11 October 2007]