He later worked in the studio of E. H. Baily for three years, and exhibited his first piece of sculpture in the Royal Academy in 1835.
[1] His busts of Jenny Lind (1848) and of Queen Victoria (1856) attracted a great deal of attention[2] the former proving particularly popular when reproduced in Parian ware by Copeland.
Between 1835 and 1878 Durham exhibited 126 pieces of sculpture at the Royal Academy and six at the British Institution.
[2] A porcelain reproduction of his sculpture Go to Sleep was distributed as a prize to members of the Art Union of London in 1865.
[2] He died after a long illness, on 27 October 1877,[2] at his home at 21 Devonshire Street, London.