Woolner became a close friend of Francis Turner Palgrave. The two shared a house and both were known for their combative personalities. Henry Adams refers to them in "The Education of Henry Adams", noting that Woolner had a "rough" personality and had to make "a supernatural effort" to be polite. Woolner designed the frontispiece of a piping youth for Palgrave's famous verse anthology the "Golden Treasury" (1861). There was a minor scandal in 1862 when Palgrave was commissioned to write a catalogue for the 1862 International Exhibition, in which he praised Woolner and denigrated other sculptors, especially Woolner's main rival Carlo Marochetti. The well known controversialist Jacob Omnium pointed out in a series of letters to the press that the two lived together. William Holman Hunt wrote a reply supporting Woolner, but Palgrave was forced to withdraw the catalogue.