Alfred Frank Hardiman (21 May 1891 – 17 April 1949) was an English sculptor. He was born at 17 Orde Hall Street,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the son of Alfred William Hardiman, silversmith, of

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its root ...

, and his wife, Ada Myhill.

Life

Hardiman won a

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

Scholarship to the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It o ...

in 1912, and three years later joined the Royal Academy School. After a period as an engineer's draughtsman in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War, Hardiman resumed his studies and in 1920 was awarded the

British Prix de Rome The British School at Rome (BSR) is an interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture. History The British School at Rome (BSR) was established in 1901 and granted a UK Royal Charter in 1912. Its mission is " ...

scholarship, spending two years at the British School at Rome. There he developed his style, a blend of naturalism and classicism influenced by Roman and Etruscan art and early fifth century Greek sculpture. Hardiman's best-known (but also most controversial) work is the

Earl Haig Memorial The Earl Haig Memorial is a bronze equestrian statue of the British Western Front commander Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig on Whitehall in Westminster, London. It was created by the sculptor Alfred Frank Hardiman and commissioned by Parliament in ...

on Whitehall in London. More universally admired are the heraldic lions flanking the main entrance to the

City Hall, Norwich Norwich City Hall is an Art Deco building completed in 1938 which houses the city hall for the city of Norwich, East Anglia, in Eastern England. It is one of the Norwich 12, a collection of twelve heritage buildings in Norwich deemed of parti ...

, a work which fully epitomises his style. He was appointed consultant sculptor to the building, having worked with one of the architects, Stephen Rowland Pierce, on the Haig Memorial. Hardiman also carved three large stone figures for the outside of the council chamber, and worked with other sculptors on the project including

James Woodford James Arthur Woodford (1893–1976) was an English sculptor. His works include sets of bronze doors for the headquarters of the Royal Institute of British Architects and Norwich City Hall; the Queen's Beasts, originally made for the Coronation i ...

and

Eric Aumonier Aubrey Eric Stacy Aumonier (5 May 1899 – 1974), was a British sculptor. Life Aumonier was born in Northwood, Middlesex (now northwest London); his family name is Huguenot (French Protestant). Eric's grandfather, William, founded the Aumonie ...

. Hardiman was elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1936 and a full Academician in 1944. He became a fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1938 and the following year received their silver medal for his statue of Haig. In 1946 he won a gold medal for his bronze fountain figure for the New Council House, College Green,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, which however was never erected. In 1918 he married Violet, daughter of Herbert Clifton White, of London, and had two daughters. He died at

Stoke Poges Stoke Poges () is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is centred north-north-east of Slough, its post town, and southeast of Farnham Common. Etymology In the name Stoke Poges, ''stoke'' means " stockaded (pl ...

17 April 1949.

Public sculptures

* Whitehall, London:

* County Hall, London: Four statue groups * St James's church, Piccadilly, London: Memorial fountain to Viscount Southwood * Eltham Palace, London
Saint George
(originally at Carlos Place) *

: Two bronze heraldic lions, three statues: Recreation, Wisdom, Education *

Old Saint Paul's, Edinburgh Old Saint Paul's is an historic church of the Scottish Episcopal Church in the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town in Scotland. It is one of the original congregations of the Scottish Episcopal Church, part of the Anglican Communion, which evolved wit ...

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

at the head of the Calvary Stair Hardiman calvary 1926

* Bantaskine, Falkirk: Peace * Kippen Kirk, Stirling: Entry into Jerusalem * Rhodes House, Oxford: Portrait of Cecil Rhodes * Hertfordshire County Hall: Harts

Notes

External links

Profile on Royal Academy of Arts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardiman, Alfred Frank Prix de Rome (Britain) winners English sculptors English male sculptors 1891 births 1949 deaths 20th-century British sculptors Royal Academicians