Frederick Edward McWilliam Sold at Auction Prices

Small Sculture, Painter, Sculptor, b. 1909 - d. 1992

(born 30 April 1909 Banbridge, Northern Ireland; died 13 May 1992 London, England) Irish Sculptor. At first training to become a painter, Frederick Edward McWilliam attended Belfast College of Art for two years and went on to study at the Slade School of Art in London from 1928-31, where he later taught. It was here that he met the famed sculptor Henry Moore and was inspired to become a sculptor. He worked for a year at a studio in Port d’Orleans in Paris and met Constantin Brancusi in 1933. In 1936 McWilliam attended the International Surrealist Exhibition in London; he later joined the British Surrealist group in 1938. His sculptures were primarily distorted human figures that lent themselves well as surrealist imagery; he would omit body parts leaving an unharmonious, incohesive shape. In 1939 he had his first solo exhibit at the London Gallery. During World War II McWilliam joined the Royal Air Force and was sent to India. His sculpting technique changed after the war; producing more rough textured works. He explored various media, including wood, bronze, stone, and aluminum. His first American exhibition was at the Felix Landau Gallery in Los Angeles in 1963. His works are in the collection of such major institutions as the Tate, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Royal Opera House, all in London. McWilliam has won numerous titles and awards: in 1964 he won an honorary doctorate by Queens University; in 1971 he won an Oireachtas gold medal for sculpture; was appointed Fellow at University College; and in 1989 was appointed a Senior Royal Academician.