John Bridgeman (sculptor)

Infobox Artist
bgcolour = teal
name = John Bridgeman


imagesize = 150px
caption = John Bridgeman in his studio
birthdate = 1916
deathdate = 2004
works = Mater Dolorosa, Coventry Cathedral; 'Compassion' for the Dudley Road Hospital, Birmingham

Arthur John Bridgeman ARCA, FRBS, [ [http://www.rbs.org.uk/cgibin/rbs_gallery.cgi?userid=320&letter=B Royal British Society of Sculptors – Gallery ] ] FRBSA [ [http://www.rbsa.org.uk/join/profiles/jbridgeman.htm RBSA gallery - members list ] ] (2 February 1916 – 29 December 2004) was an English sculptor.

Early life

Born in Felixstowe, Suffolk and named Arthur John, he was usually called 'Bridge' by his friends and signed himself John Bridgeman. He joined Colchester School of Art at the age of 14 and went on from there to the Royal College of Art where he studied with Frank Dobson [ [http://www.leicestergalleries.com/art-and-antiques/detail/11217 Study of a Female Nude by FRANK DOBSON ] ] and won the Otto Beit Medal for Sculpture. His first love was painting, and it was during this period that he produced may gouache paintings and pastels in a Romantic style celebrating the English countryside. [ [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19970921/ai_n14130734 THE SUBTLE APPROACH | Independent, The (London) | Find Articles at BNET.com ] ] After the war he was awarded the British School at Rome Scholarship, but did not take this up going on to work with Misha Black and then on the Dome of Discovery for the Festival of Britain. After a spell as head of sculpture at Carlisle School of Art he succeeded William Bloye as head of Sculpture at Birmingham School of Art where he worked until retirement in 1981.

culpture

His work was popular with both private and municipal patrons and he contributed particularly to the regeneration of Birmingham after the war through the creation of a number of iconic pieces of public art. He also created play sculptures for children in the new council estates which were being built - an innovative idea that was ahead of its time in the 1950s. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0419259007&id=vYoMKHuwcyEC&pg=RA2-PA162&lpg=RA2-PA162&dq=john+bridgeman+sculptor&sig=7b_3selv-sp9xjQfxfoqqY_iDak#PPA162,M1 ] Always experimenting with new materials, his cement fondue Mother and Baby for Birmingham Maternity Hospital [http://pmsa.cch.kcl.ac.uk/images/nrpBM/BMAP4.jpg] and the recently restored over-life-size bronze group 'Compassion' for the Dudley Road Hospital, Birmingham [http://pmsa.cch.kcl.ac.uk/images/nrpBM/BMAK12.jpg] are typical of his large scale commissions [http://www.acbwm.org.uk/ACBNews/2006/may2006.pdf] . The Mater Dolorosa in the Lady chapel of the then recently rebuilt Coventry Cathedral is perhaps the most powerful of his religious works, which he created throughout his life. [http://coventrycathedraltour.org.uk/images/features/virgin_mary.jpg] His philosophy of art and his interest in methods and materials are embodied in the book he co-wrote with his wife, the author and journalist Irene Dancyger, "Clay Models and Stone Carving", 1974. [ [http://worldcat.org/search?q=irene+dancyger&qt=notfound_page&search=Search_author Results for 'Irene Dancyger' [WorldCat.org ] ] Towards the end of his life he concentrated on smaller female figures proving himself to be one of the last great practitioners of the art of lost-wax modelling.

Gallery

Bibliography

*Dancyger, Irene, "Clay Models and Stone Carving," London, 1974 ISBN 0877495645
*Noszlopy, George and Beach, Jeremy, "Public Sculpture of Birmingham," Liverpool, 1998, p.56 ISBN 0853236925
*Fieldhouse, Ken and Woudstra, Jan, "The Regeneration of Public Parks", London, 2000, p.162 ISBN 0419259007
*Noszlopy, George, "Public Sculpture of Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull," Liverpool, 2003, p.171 ISBN 0853238375
*Noszlopy, George and Waterhouse, Fiona, "Public Sculpture of Staffordshire and the Black Country", Liverpool, 2005, p.170, ISBN 0853239894

Notes

External links

* [http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article14653.ece Obituary of John Bridgeman from the Independent January 13 2005]
* [http://pmsa.cch.kcl.ac.uk/UEL/NE057.htm Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project]
* [http://exploringeastlondon.co.uk/Eastham/Eastham.htm Link to St. Bratholomew's East Ham 'Family Group']
* [http://www.artfacts.net/index.php/pageType/instInfo/inst/4801 Anthony Hepworth Fine Art]

Persondata
NAME=Bridgeman, John
NAME=Bridgeman+John
NAME=Bridgeman_John
NAME=Bridgeman
NAME=bridgeman+john
NAME=Bridgeman+John
NAME=John Bridgeman
NAME=Bridgeman, john
NAME=john Bridgeman
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Bridgeman, Arthur John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Bridgeman
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Artist
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Sculptor
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Painter
DATE OF BIRTH=2 February, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH=Felixstowe, England
DATE OF DEATH=29 December, 2004
PLACE OF DEATH=Warwick, England