Thought to be the son of a local stonemason and sculptor, Carew was born in
Tramore near
Waterford on the southern Irish coast. He studied art in
Dublin. Around 1809, he came to
London to work for Sir
Richard Westmacott. For part of the time which he worked with Westmacott he also had his own studio in the Edgware Road. In 1831 he moved to a studio in
Brighton, to be nearer
Petworth House, home of
George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont who was his main patron from the mid-1820s until the earl's death in 1837. Carew later moved to Grove House near
Petworth. When Lord Egremont died leaving no provision for him in his will, the sculptor sued the Earl's executors for £50,000. Ten thousand pounds of this was for "loss of time in the attendance on the late Lord Egremont". Carew claimed that he had not been properly paid for the sculptures made for Petworth, and that he had sacrificed commercial success by moving to Sussex to be near the earl. The defence produced evidence that Carew had been generously paid, at least £20,000 for completed works, and that Lord Egremont had done all he could to promote Carew's reputation. Carew's counsel withdrew the case. Carew was declared bankrupt in 1842. and a statue of
Henry Grattan for St Stephen's Hall in the
Palace of Westminster (1857). He was selected to make the bronze relief of the death of
Nelson, for the pedestal of
Nelson's Column; it was installed in December 1849. For the Catholic cathedral at St John's, Newfoundland, Carew executed several statues and an elaborate altarpiece. Carew exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1812 until 1848 when his eyesight began to fail. He was buried in
Kensal Green Cemetery. == Works ==