Artist Spotlight I F.E. McWilliam
F.E McWilliam
Up the Grass Roots, 1976
Bronze
32 x 30 x 15 cm
1ft ⅝ x 11 ⅞ x 5 ⅞ in.
Unique, only 1 of Edition of 5 cast
Today, we are celebrating the influential Northern Irish sculptor, F.E. McWilliam, born on this day 116 years ago.
F.E. McWilliam CBE RA worked chiefly in stone, wood and bronze. After studying at Belfast College of Art, he continued his learning at the Slade School of Art, London in 1928. Originally intending to become a painter, McWilliam was influenced by A.H. Gerrard, Head of Sculpture at the Slade, and Henry Moore, whom he met there, and turned to sculpture. From 1936 onwards, his works gradually became more influenced by Surrealism and he was loosely associated with the British Surrealist movement which included leading figures such as Eileen Agar and Paul Nash. During the Second World War, F.E. McWilliam spent time stationed in India, where the landscape, art and architecture greatly shaped his practice. He was interested in the interplay between solid volume and surrounding space, and how the viewer completes the 'missing' parts of the sculpture in the mind's eye.
F.E McWilliam
Up and Up and On and On, 1975
Bronze with a gold patina
77 x 23.5 x 26.7 cm
30 ¼ x 9 ¼ x 10 ½ in.
Signed 'MCW 1/5' on base
Edition 1 of 5
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Installed in the Artists House, Up the Grass Roots and Up and Up and On and On originated from McWilliam's 'Banner' series, made between 1975 and 1976, which consisted of a variation of small bronzes of women in movement seen in the 'Women of Belfast' group. As an artist, F.E. McWilliam was always deeply involved in the world around him, and used his sculpture to illustrate the protest movement in Northern Ireland. These works address McWilliam’s interest in humanity as a theme, and were inspired by media images of the bombings of the Abercorn Restaurant in Belfast in July 1972.
The expressive figures all carry a verbal message as well as a sculptural one. In Up and Up and On and On, the figure stands defiant, her arms held straight, gripping the banner with the inscription 'Up and Up and On and On; a message of hope. In these works, McWilliam's use of drapery gives life to the figures, the surface moulded in such a way to make no distinction between flesh and cloth.
F.E McWilliam
Legs Standing, 1978
Signed and editioned 'McW 4/5' (on base)
Bronze
29 x 11 x 9 cm
11 ½ x 4 ⅜ x 3 ½ in.
Edition 4 of 5
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Taking inspiration from Surrealist symbolism and Selfridges advertisements for ladies’ tights, McWilliam’s Legs series exhibit playful and unexpected imagery.
“Legs are not a part of the body traditionally expressed as self-sufficient fragments, yet they lend themselves to intricate three-dimensional design and as re-constructed by McWilliam become witty and gently subversive, created at the height of 1970s feminism.” – Valerie Holman, The Sculpture of F.E. McWilliam, The Henry Moore Foundation, 2012, p.74.
F.E McWilliam
Mulberry Figure Seven, 1988
Mulberry wood
62 x 32 x 35 cm
2ft ⅜ x 1ft ⅝ x 1ft 1 ¾ in.
Unique
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During a hurricane in October 1987, the large mulberry tree in F.E. McWilliam's London garden was blown down. The felling instigated an energetic return to sculpting with wood. The form of the mulberry figures was directly influenced by the shape, grain, and texture of this rare and beautiful material, and were exhibited in his major retrospective at the Tate in 1989.
F.E. McWilliam’s work is held in several major public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Arts Council of Northern Ireland; the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; the Tate Collection, UK; V&A Museum, London; the National Portrait Gallery, London; the Royal Academy, London; the Contemporary Art Society, London; the British Museum, London and the Arts Council of Great Britain. In 1966, McWilliam he was awarded a CBE, and in 1989 appointed senior Royal Academician.