Elizabeth Strachan Dempster, ARSA, (23 April 1909 - 17 January 1987) was a Scottish sculptor.

Biography

Dempster was born on 23 April 1909 in

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

, Scotland to Elizabeth Watt and Duncan Dempster, a sugar refiner. She was orphaned at an early age. After her parents' deaths, she moved to Edinburgh to be with her guardian, Dr Charles Warr, minister at

St Giles' Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and Honorary Chaplain to the

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

and later the

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

. Dempster studied sculpture at

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

(1930). Her tutors included the sculptors

Alexander Carrick Alexander Carrick (20 February 1882 – 1966) was a Scottish sculptor. He was one of Scotland's leading monumental sculptors of the early part of the 20th century. He was responsible for many architectural and ecclesiastical works as well as m ...

and Norman John Forrest, and she studied alongside the sculptors

Hew Lorimer Hew Martin Lorimer, OBE (22 May 1907 – 1 September 1993) was a Scottish sculptor. Early life He was born in Edinburgh, the second son of architect Sir Robert Lorimer. He was educated at Loretto School in Musselburgh, then at Magdalen Colle ...

, Thomas W. Whalen and Scott Sutherland. Dempster also trained further in London at

Regent Street Polytechnic The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Polyte ...

and at

Munich Academy The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, ...

in Germany. In the late 1930s, Dempster was commissioned to produce three large carvings in oak, two of angels and one of the biblical figure Jubal, for the new

organ case The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks' ...

at St Giles' Cathedral. Her work on the pieces was in danger of being delayed because she had been called up for service as a

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

nurse at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, however, given the public importance of the work, the Red Cross released her from her duties so that she might complete it. Her first commission was ''Seahorse'' for the Clyde Navigation Trust which was shown at the 1938 Empire Exhibition at

Bellahouston Park Bellahouston Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Bhaile Ùisdean'') is a public park in the Bellahouston district on the South Side of Glasgow, Scotland, between the areas of Craigton, Dumbreck, Ibrox and Mosspark covering an area of . The main ...

. Dempster designed and carved the first and fifth monoliths of the Royal Scots Monument in

Princes Street Gardens Princes Street Gardens are two adjacent public parks in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Gardens were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and building of the New Town, ...

in Edinburgh. The monument was unveiled on 26 July 1952. In the early 1950s, Dempster was commissioned to design and carve the

roundel A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...

s that sit above seven figures carved by Hew Lorimer, on the facade of the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in the ...

building. Dempster was responsible for two wood carvings at St Swithun’s Church in

East Grinstead East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the civ ...

, one of which is of

St Swithun Swithun (or Swithin; ang, Swīþhūn; la, Swithunus; died 863 AD) was an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester and subsequently patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. His historical importance as bishop is overshadowed by his reputation for post ...

. Dempster was elected as an Associate of the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country’s national academy of art. It promotes contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy, it became the ...

in 1960. She regularly exhibited her work at the Academy's annual Exhibition of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. The first piece she exhibited was ''St Bridget'' in 1935. In 1946, her piece ''Mors Janua vitae'' won an award from the RSA for which she received a prize of £50. Dempster died on 17 January 1987 in Edinburgh.

Works

A selection of Dempster's works, several of which are held in the collections of the Royal Scottish Academy and

National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland ( gd, Gailearaidhean Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the National Collections o ...

. * St Bridget (1935) * Alfred Ernest Warr 1899-1937 (1937) * Thought (1937) * A member of a committee (1938) * Seahorse (1938) * The denial (1939) * Mother and child (1946) * Cock (1946) * Mors Janua vitae (1946) * Housewives (1947) * Black queen (1947) * Four ducks on a pond (1948) * There were shepherds abiding in a field (1948) * Bear (1949) * St Cuthbert and the otters (1950) * Jacob and the angel (1950) * Maggie (1951)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dempster, Elizabeth 1909 births 1987 deaths 20th-century British sculptors 20th-century Scottish women artists Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Scottish women sculptors People from Greenock