John Bridgeman (sculptor)

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John Bridgeman
John Bridgeman in his studio
Born	1916
Died	2004
Works	Mater Dolorosa, Coventry Cathedral; 'Compassion' for the Dudley Road Hospital, Birmingham

Arthur John Bridgeman ARCA, FRBS,^[1] FRBSA^[2] (2 February 1916 – 29 December 2004) was an English sculptor.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Sculpture 3 Gallery 4 Bibliography 5 Notes 6 External links

[edit] 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^[3] 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.^[4] 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.

[edit] Sculpture

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.^[5] Always experimenting with new materials, his cement fondue Mother and Baby for Birmingham Maternity Hospital ^[6] and the recently restored over-life-size bronze group 'Compassion' for the Dudley Road Hospital, Birmingham ^[7] are typical of his large scale commissions^[8]. 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.^[9] 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.^[10] 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.

[edit] Gallery

Landscape, c. 1946	Seated Figure, c. 1958	Standing figure, c.1968	Seated Woman, Bronze, c. 1972
Seated Girl by a Pool, Bronze, 1985[11]

[edit] 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

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Obituary of John Bridgeman from the Independent January 13 2005
• Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project
• Link to St. Bratholomew's East Ham 'Family Group'
• Anthony Hepworth Fine Art

Persondata
NAME	john Bridgeman
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Bridgeman
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