Name William Shirreffs | ||
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William Shirreffs (1846-23 June 1902) was a Scottish sculptor in the 19th century.
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His two principal claims to fame is as one of the chosen sculptors of the figures depicting characters from the novels of Sir Walter Scott on the Scott Monument on Princes Street in Edinburgh and for the figures on the north entrance porch of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
Life
He was born in Huntly, Aberdeenshire.
He studied at Glasgow School of Art under William Mossman from 1870 to 1873 winning a free scholarship in 1872.
In 1877 he opened his own studio at 108 West Regent Street and in 1887 opened his own foundry at 261 West George Street, probably with his brother, Charles G. Shirreffs (d.1913) who was a brass-founder.
His bronze and copper-work are considerably more refined than his stone carving.
He worked closely with the architect J J Burnet on several projects. He also did co-operative works with other sculptors such as Sir George Frampton, John Rhind and Pittendreigh MacGillivray.
He exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1896.
For the Kelvingrove Art Gallery he visited Paris with Frampton to study sculpture on contemporary French buildings and the French influence can clearly be seen.
He died at his home, Lochwinnoch in Paisley in 1902. He is buried in Glasgow’s Western Necropolis.
Principal Public Works
See